When the Sky is High
by x20 Vision
Summary: AU! What if Squall and Rinoa had fallen in love before the game even started? Will the bonds of love last through this rough adventure or will they fall prey to the hands of loneliness and despair... Squinoa!
1. Draw Your Own Scars: This Scar Runs Deep

Summary: AU! What if Squall and Rinoa had fallen in love before the game even started? Will the bonds of love last through this rough adventure or will they fall prey to the hands of loneliness and despair... RinoaxSquallxQuistis

A/n: I already have a couple in mind for the ending... but I still want your opinion on who Squall should end up with! I'll change the story based on the 'votes' I get... Now! No more stalling! On with the show!

**~* When the Sky is High *~**

_~ Chapter 1: Draw Your Own Scars: This Mortal Scar Runs Deep ~_

_*********************************************_

Rinoa tapped her pencil in a rhythmic pattern against her desk as she thought about a topic for her paper. Her head was held in her other hand as she tapped her fingers against her face. Her room was bright with sun light from the window of her room, the only artificial light in her room was the lamp on her desk that shown brightly onto her blank binder paper. 

She sighed, annoyed at the fact that there wasn't a good topic lurking anywhere in her head. "Think Rinoa, think!" She commanded bonking her head with the pencil a few times. She stopped and dropped the pencil on the desk, picked it up, and dropped it again. "Dammit..." She cursed. "My mind is so out of whack today... I'm even talking to myself!" She exclaimed, frustrated. "Need to purge my mind of all unnecessary thoughts and ideas..." She massaged her temples lightly but stopped quickly. "Squall!" She exclaimed with a bright smile. She stood in a rush and walked out the door. "Squall will help me!" She exclaimed once more as people around looked at her funny. "Gotta stop talking to myself..." She whispered as she blushed furiously. She picked her speed walk up and into a run. 

*

"What the hell did you call me out here for?" Squall asked, unsheathing his gunblade, sensing hostility from Seifer, the man who had led him out here. Seifer smiled politely and placed one foot forward on the gravel like terrain. The sky was dark and clouds filled the atmosphere, a stark contrast from the sunny day they were having earlier. 

"Just a friendly... umm... 'study session' before our big final." Seifer told him, placing his gunblade's tip to the ground. 

"I doubt that." Squall said under his breath as he cracked his knuckles, prepping himself for the battle ahead. 

"We need all the practice we can get, right?" He reminded him with a smirk. 

"I don't need anymore." Squall told him wanting to leave, badly. 

"Yes you do. Nobody is perfect." Seifer told him as he grabbed the hilt of his gunblade, ready to start the long over do duel. 

"I don't need to be perfect." Squall told him. 

"Nobody does... You don't want to fight I see." Seifer began, scratching his chin. He eyed Squall for a second who picked up his gunblade and pointed it at him, ready. Seifer smiled and held his gunblade in front of him, ready as well. "Finally." He said with a smile. 

* 

Quistis sat in her classroom, grading her student's papers. There were hundreds of papers stock piled at her desk, taunting her. She had a long way to go, but she had a long time to do them, so time was on her side. Her eyes scanned back and forth between her answer key and one of her student's paper. Correct, correct, correct, miss, correct, miss, miss, miss. She checked the 'misses' with her red pen and put tiny red dots next to the correct answers. 

She was about to move on to another paper until the door swung open and in came a trio of students. They were her fans, or Trepies as the staff called them. While there were alot more than three, these particular ones seem to be the most devoted of them. 

"Yes?" Quistis began. "Can I help you?" She asked politely, even though she really didn't want to be interrupted. 

"Uhhh... Ms. Trepe, can you come to the training center with us?" The female student asked, bashfully. 

"Is it to scary?" Quistis joked. The three laughed at her joke, even if it did poke fun at them. All in good fun they must have figured. 

"Oh no, not that at all! We just need some tips on some of the most effective kill strategies... you know, tutoring for our final." The girl told her with a smile on her face, feeling more comfortable. 

"Of course." Quistis told her with a smile. The three high-fived each other and the four walked out of the classroom and to the training center. 

* 

'A good topic... a good topic...' Rinoa repeated silently in her mind as she lied back on the grass in the middle of the Balamb Plains. The sky was dark and dismal. Clouds were high over head but the temperature was fine, not cold as it might had seemed. 'There are no good topics...' She finally justified silently as she sat up. 'I wonder if I can just not do this assignment... wonder what my grade would be?' She asked herself, beginning to stand. 'What are you saying Rinoa!? If I do do that, I'll walk in and I'll be the only one without a paper and then Squall will be like 'You didn't bring one!' and I'll be like 'I hate myself' and then Quistis will say 'I hate you too' and then she'll kick me! Okay... maybe that won't happen, but something close.' 

She was about to walk back to Garden until a bright flash of light erupted from the other side of a nearby hill. A curious look replaced her previously stressed expression as she walked for the hill, wondering what had happened. She had figured it was lightning considering the sky, but there was no thunder following it. She reached the top of the hill to find what her next, and most dreaded, thought was... Squall and Seifer brawling.

... Seifer fired a fireball at Squall who skillfully deflected it with his blade. 

"God you're annoying!" Seifer complained, clenching his teeth in anger. He picked up his gunblade in both hands and prepped himself again. 

"Then why are you fighting me!?" Squall exclaimed as he dove behind a near by rock and began to load his weapon full of his best ammunition. 

"'Cause I want to train! I already told you that. Now come out!" Seifer yelled. "... Or I'll blast that rock to pieces!" He threatened aiming his hand to the rock and charging a powerful fire attack. 

"I know you don't want to train! You want to see me dead on the ground!" Squall yelled back. He stood up, jumped over the rock and lunged at his foe. They clashed swords. 

"Dammit, you worthless piece of trash..." Seifer snarled under his breath, they pushed off of each other. "But of course I would like to see you dead!" Seifer said with a deep laugh. "I'd eat you if I had the chance. I'd tear your heart out and eat it!" Seifer said, licking his lips in an exagerated way. 

"You're disgusting..." Squall whispered, prepping himself once more. He ran to Seifer and they clashed swords once again. 

"Did you know I'm a magician?" Seifer asked, a smirk on his dirty face. "I can pull things from mid-air..." He said with the tiniest whisper as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun and pointed to Squall's chest, unbeknownst to Squall. 

"SQUALL!!" Rinoa screamed at the top of her lungs as she came running down the hill. "He's got a gun!" She screamed once more. Squall turned to her confused, but heard her warning and pushed off of him and to the side. The gun fired and grazed his arm, cutting his prized jacket, shirt and skin. Blood splattered on the ground and spilled down the arm of Squall's jacket. 

"Seifer... you cheating son of bitch." Squall snarled as he glared deeply at his foe. Seifer just laughed and laughed. 

"I want to see your bloody, mangled corpse splayed everywhere! I'll do anything!" Seifer yelled as he charged another fireball and shot straight into Squall's chest, hurling him back a few feet with a yelp of pain. 

"You cheating bastard..." Squall coughed, weakly. "You'd do anything to get what you want." Squall said coming to the realization of just how insane Seifer really was. 

"Of course I would!" Seifer screamed. "Now... come..." Seifer commanded with a very genuine smile and a taunting gesture from his hand. "I'll split your head in two." Seifer proclaimed, raising his gunblade.

"Stop it!" Rinoa screamed, about to run into the fray, knowing there would only be a causalities. 

"Stay away Rinoa!" Squall commanded harshly. Squall didn't listen for a reply and instead charged forward in blind rage. Seifer dropped his gunblade, held out his hands for the embrace of what was to come, and closed his eyes. Squall brought up his blade and sliced from the forehead, down the bridge of his nose and to his cheek. Seifer staggered some and blood poured all down his face and onto the ground. He ran his hand through a portion of the fountain of blood and licked it. Rinoa gasped in disgust at not only Seifer's gesture but what had just happened. Seifer bent down and grabbed his gunblade and walked for Squall. He was slowly walking backwards, afraid that Seifer was going to slit his throat or slice him in two. Seifer sliced at his hand, cutting it which caused Squall to drop his blade from the pain. He held his bleeding hand in pain until another slash from Seifer's blade came to his chest, cutting the shirt and tearing the skin with it. Rinoa felt like throwing up. 

"Rinoa... why don't you get the nurse... I have a feeling Squall is going to need it." Seifer smirked and rose his blade high above his head and came down, slashing from the forehead, down the nose and to the cheek, just as Squall had done to him. Rinoa turned just as this happened and ran, crying to get the nurse. Squall didn't know what to hold first, the pain was all around. His breathing quickened and he fainted, falling flat onto his back. Seifer smiled at his handy work and kicked him in the stomach....

***

Quistis sighed in relief as she placed her red pen down on the table after hours of correcting. She sighed with a wonderful smile on her face. This was the best feeling she had ever gotten. Work was done and play time was ahead. Well, play was a very broad word in Quistis's dictionary. 'Play' meant sitting, sleeping, watching TV, and pretty much anything else besides tedious school work. 

She leaned back in her chair and was about to fall asleep until the phone rang. She sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes to the point of it being painful. She sat up in the chair and picked up the telephone harshly, as if she wanted to strangle it. 

"Hello!?" Quistis asked in a very angry and exaggerated tone. 

"Ummm..." The women began uncomfortably.

"Oh... sorry, Dr. Kadowaki." Quistis apologized as she looked at the caller ID. 

"It's okay... seems like your having a bad day, and I'm sorry, but there seems to be more bad news..." The doctor began, trailing her sentence off just in case Quistis told her to shut the hell up. Kadowaki didn't get the response she was expecting and continued. "It's about Squall. He seems to have-" Quistis cut the doctor off. 

"Ahhh... shit..." Quistis cursed quite loudly. "What happened? No, don't even tell me... I'm coming down there right now!" She said sternly and hung up the phone. 

*

Rinoa dabbed Squall's facial wound lightly with a wet and cold wash cloth. Every dab she gave him he winced slightly in response. She leaned forward in her stool which was next to his doctor's bed. 

"You're lucky your girlfriend got me so fast!" Dr. Kadowaki exclaimed from her position in the door frame. 

"She's not my girlfriend dammit!" Squall practically screamed, attempting to lean up, but Rinoa pushed him down into his bed gently. 

"Stop moving!" Rinoa commanded sternly. "You'll move the bandages. You need them, so don't shake 'em off." Rinoa told him, still dabbing his wound which was still bleeding a little. There was a bandage on his arm, hand and across his chest. Rinoa couldn't help but steal a few quick peeks at his chest, considering it was uncovered. 

"Okay... then you're lucky Rinoa got me so fast." Dr. Kadowaki corrected after their brief interlude. "You lost quite a bit of blood with all those gashes and you'll have scars on each of them to boot." The doctor told him sourly. "We'll put scar cream on them when they stop bleeding which will reduce their size a bit, but won't make them completely disappear." She told him. Squall nodded slightly, signaling he understood whatever she was talking about. All he could focus on right now was the stinging from his forehead with that damn cloth... and Rinoa. The way she lightly tapped his head, her worried look, her school uniform with the short skirt and how the sunlight reflected off her brunette hair. He repressed a smile and cast his eyes away from her. Eventually he began to notice the sunlight was beating down on his chest and face. 

"Hey Rinny." He began, not caring if the doctor heard her nickname or not. "Close the blinds." He ordered softly. She nodded, got up and did as she was asked, closing the blinds. The room was dark and dismal looking, almost as if rain clouds had suddenly swelled inside the room. 

There was silence between the two for a bit until Rinoa finally spoke up. "How are you feeling?" She asked, smiling, hoping for a good answer. 

"Better." He simply stated. 

"Better then when?" She asked, looking at him curiously. 

"Better then when I was in so much pain I wanted to die." Squall told her, becoming a little bit frustrated in her.

"Anything's better than that... I'm glad." She said with a lovely smile. Suddenly, the door outside Squall's temporary room opened to reveal his teacher, Quistis. He watched through his window and saw her stop at the front desk and speak briefly with the doctor. The doctor pointed to Squall's door and he cursed under his breath. He didn't want to talk to Quistis right now. 

His sliding door opened with a little swish and in stepped Quistis. She shook her head, smiled and sighed. She couldn't stay mad at him, considering he was her most prized student. 

"What happened this time?" Quistis asked, looking to Rinoa for answers, purposely avoiding Squall. 

"Got cut up by Seifer." Rinoa told her as she began to stroke Squall's soft brown hair. He made no attempt to stop her, it looked like he didn't even care. "I thought Seif was going to kill him." Rinoa told her, still gazing at Squall. 

"I figured as much when I got the call from the doctor." Quistis told her as she took a seat on a stool across from Rinoa. Quistis looked over Squall's body and shook her head at the sight of the bandages. "Quite a number Seifer did on you, hmm?" Quistis questioned to Squall. He opened one eye, gave her a quick look, and it closed it again. She frowned at the lack of communication between her and her student. "Will I see you in class tomorrow, Squall?" Quistis asked, wanting to start up a convorsation.

"Yeah." He said, making it simple. 

"Well... I hope you're well enough because you still haven't taken your prerequisite test yet." She told him with a light smile on her face as she saw Squall's face contort to annoyance. Quistis stood from her stool slowly. "I'll see you two tomorrow then?" She asked, looking to them both. They both nodded not so eagerly. She turned and was about to exit Squall's door until she stopped and turned back to them. "And remember! Your papers are due tomorrow!" She reminded them with a little teasing smile. 

"Oh right..." Rinoa mumbled under her breath just as Quistis left. "I still have to work on that piece of shit." She said a bit louder this time. 

"I finished." Squall said bluntly. Rinoa rolled her eyes. 

"You finish everything early." She said with a shake of her head. 

"Just to make you mad." He told her. She was a bit shocked to hear him say such playful words. Even when they were together, alone, he wouldn't say thongs like that. Rinoa was about to speak once more until the doctor came in.

"You are free to go Squall.... but do you want to leave with your shirt on?" The doctor asked. The question received strange looks from the two and the doctor quickly caught on. "Well, if he wants to leave with a shirt on, he can't leave with that pull over shirt." She furthered as she pointed to the white t-shirt slung over a chair. "Rinoa, will you be a dear and fetch Squall a button up shirt?" She pleaded politely. Rinoa nodded and stood. 

"Squall... do you even have any button up shirts?" Rinoa asked, the realization suddenly dawning on her. 

"Somewhere... deep in the dark crevices of my closet..." He told her shrugging. 

"Thanks." Rinoa said as she rolled her eyes and left. 

"I'll leave you as well. I have work to attend to." Dr. Kadowaki told him politely and made her exit. Squall let his head lie back against the pillow behind him, he sighed. He cracked his neck and slowly and curiously reached his non-bandaged hand up to touch the pain on his forehead. He gingerly touched the side of it, it didn't hurt. Feeling a bit braver, he lightly poked the scar itself. It stung, badly and he clenched his teeth together, hard and his eyes clamped shut. 

'Just go to sleep Squall... before you cause more pain to yourself.' He thought, he nodded his head in agreement with the silent idea. He closed his eyes and in minutes he was asleep. 

_"Squall...." The soft, airy voice said. Squall saw no one or anything. There was darkness, nothingness. "Squall..." The voice repeated. There was silence. "Time..." The voice began. "Ebbing and flowing... It is the one thing we have that does not obey us. It hurts us instead of aiding us." The voice stopped. "You know me. You will meet me soon..." The voice trailed off. "Soft... what light through yonder window breaks?" The voice ended abruptly. _

Squall awoke in a startled manner just as Rinoa entered the room, a button shirt in hand. Squall gave her an odd look, and she to him as well. 

"Who opened the blinds?" She asked in a curious tone, pointing to the window that was blazing in sun. 

"I don't know. Doctor probably." He said, lifting himself upright ever so carefully, remembering Rinoa's warning of moving the bandages. Rinoa smiled at the gesture and moved towards him, opening up the shirt for him to put it on.

"You don't have to be so careful about the bandages anymore. You were out for about two hours, so the scars have stopped bleeding." Rinoa told him, causing Squall to immediately ease up on his rigid motions. 

"Two hours?" He questioned, a little unbelieving. "Did you blindfold yourself when you looked through my stuff?" He asked, grinding his teeth pain as he had to stretch awkwardly to get into the shirt. He slipped his arm through the sleeve with much pain because of the 'bullet' wound. Rinoa just grunted, showing mock humor in his last question. "Hey... Did anyone come into this room while I was sleeping, do you know?" He asked, finally getting the shirt on. He was about to button it up until Rinoa jumped to the buttons before he could even move his hands. 

"I don't know. Ms. Kadowaki didn't mention anything about it to me. Ask her." Rinoa advised as she finished buttoning his shirt like a little child on his first day of school. Squall walked out his door and directly to the doctor. 

"Ms. Kadowaki... did anyone visit me while I was sleeping?" Squall asked, resting his hands up against the counter. 

"No... Sorry Squall." Kadowaki said apologetically. Squall nodded and left, Rinoa behind him. They walked out and into the grand circular hall of Balamb Garden. The halls were noisy with students hustling and bustling to and fro and chatting with their other peers. Rinoa waved to a few of her other friends as she walked by them and said hi to her instructors. 

Rinoa followed Squall silently all the way back to his dorm room, just in case something happened, what exactly, she didn't know. Squall stopped in front of his dorm and turned around to meet Rinoa face to face. 

"Thanks?" He said, not sure what to say. She just laughed.

"No need to thank me! Just doing my job as a girlfriend!" Rinoa saluted with a smile.

"Why does everyone think you're my girlfriend!? Even you think that!" Squall exclaimed, amazed and slightly disgusted in the fact. She sighed with a little smile on her face. Any normal girl would slap him but Rinoa was used to the way he acted. 

"Sorry..." She apologized half-heartedly. She pecked him on the cheek quickly and he blushed a deep red. "I'll be leaving now." She told him and walked down the hall to her dorm, leaving Squall to stare after her. He cupped a hand over the cheek where she had kissed him. He gathered courage and jogged up to her as she slowly traveled down the hall. 

"Thought I'd be nice." He said, not looking at her directly as he caught up with her. She turned to him and grappled her arm through Squall's. 

"I love you." Rinoa whispered in his ear. 

"I know." He said plainly. 

"Hey... maybe this is why people call me your girlfriend." Rinoa told him as she looked down to their interlocked arms. 

"Maybe." He said.

"You're so weird." She told him. 

They reached her room and they turned to one another. 

"I take it I won't you see you again for the rest of the day?" Squall asked. 

"Probably not... considering I have my paper to finish." Rinoa explained. "Well, good day!" She said politely as she unlocked her dorm room door and opened it until Squall's voice caught her. 

"Think I can help?" He asked. 

"Of course!" She said with a huge smile that stretched from ear to ear. The two walked in and she shut the door behind her. "So... what was your topic a-" Rinoa was about to continue until Squall pushed her up against a nearby wall. "Ummm..." Rinoa began, utterly confused. 

"I love you so much..." Squall whispered into her ear. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled him into her gently. 

"I know." She said blankly. She returned the hug. Squall kissed her with light peck on the lips. Rinoa made the second kiss and grazed his lips lightly, longing for more. Squall stepped back and away from her by just a few inches and Rinoa moved to the window and shut the curtains quickly, knowing what was to come. Only one other time had this happened before in their lifetimes. Squall walked to her and pressed his lips to hers and embraced her. She slowly undid his shirt and removed it with a little pain from Squall's side. His hands danced around her neck and finally pulled off her shirt. He kissed her neck gently and softly. His hands reached around her back and they undid her bra with close to no trouble. They continued to kiss as they fell down and onto the bed....

**************************************

A/n: Thank high heaven I have so many songs on my computer... I looked for so long trying to find the right song that fits the atmosphere of the story... I forgot it though... I'll have to search for it again. Shit. Oh well! I hope you all liked it! It being my first story and all... 

NEXT CHAPTER::: Squall is sent out with Quistis to the 'Fire Cavern' in order to complete his prerequisite for the final. Rinoa, back at Garden decides to go for a walk out on the plains but instead finds a mysterious women on a high hill. And the teams are decided for the class final. In the next chapter: City Of Soldiers: A City Ending


	2. Chasm: Follow The Forbidden Song

THIS CHAPTER::: Squall is sent out with Quistis to the 'Fire Cavern' in order to complete his prerequisite for the final. Rinoa, back at Garden decides to go for a walk out on the plains but instead finds a mysterious women on a high hill. Now on with the show!

NOTE: CHAPTER TITLE CHANGE AND SUMMARY CHANGE!!!

A/N: **There is very little use of GFs in this story!!!!!!!!!!!**

_~ Chapter TWO: Chasm: Follow The Forbidden Song ~_

_************************************_

You are here alone again   
In your sweet insanity   
All too calm, you hide yourself from reality   
Do you call it solitude? Do you call it liberty?   
When all the world turns away to leave you lonely   
  
The fields are filled with desires   
All voices crying for freedom   
But all in vain they will fade away   
There's only you to answer you, forever

-Yuki Kajiura, The World

Squall awoke with a stretch and a yawn as the sunlight beamed down on him from the now open curtains. He sighed in a happy state as his arm moved towards the area where Rinoa was supposed to be lying. He moved his arm past the place easily as no one was there. He opened his eyes and looked to the area where he found no one, just as suspected. He sighed in annoyance this time and shoved his head deep into her pillows. 

He was about grab rest his hand on his forehead until he a post-it-note on his forehead, stuck there ever so perfectly. He snatched it off and read it. 

'_Good morning Squall! _

_ Hope you're not mad that I left.... so before you freak on me, let me explain. I woke up at midnight, because I remembered I still hadn't completed that stupid paper. I finished it with a strange ease. Then I went back to sleep. I woke up at 6 am to get ready for class, I didn't disturb 'cause you looked so cute. I grabbed your paper from your room (I stole your keys... tee hee) and here I am! I'm going to class now... I'll tell Quistis you still aren't feeling very well. I'll turn in your paper as well. Remember though... your prerequisite is at 4 pm! Don't miss it! _

_ Love you,  
Your Girlfriend/Rinoa'_

He sighed, crumpled the note and tossed it on the floor. He was furious at her, but secretly thanked her. Why was he furious? He didn't want to miss class. What if they had important notes? Squall shrugged it off and looked at the clock, it read 10 am. He rolled over in the bed and fell back to sleep, still inhaling Rinoa's sweet smell from her pillow. 

*

Rinoa raced up the steps of Garden. She had figured the elevator was far to slow for her liking. She was going to be late for Quistis's class, again! She was always late on important project dates for some bizarre reason. She jumped over a few steps here and there along the way to her destination. The stair well was basically vacant, much to the liking of Rinoa who looked like some kind of professional stair climber. 

She finally reached the top floor of Garden where the classrooms lied. She ran down the hall, even though her legs burned like the fire of a thousand suns. Her books were being carried by her hands as they pressed tightly to her chest. Her little pig tails she had done in a rush this morning bounced along with her run. 

She finally reached the room, threw open the door and bolted inside. She sighed with relief just as the bell rang. She walked casually to her seat, trying to ignore her heavy breathing and the sweat pouring down her face. 

"All right class!" Quistis began. "Please pass your papers forward!" She commanded. There was a rustle of papers throughout the class. Rinoa opened her binder which had been practically attached to her chest this whole time. She picked out her and Squall's papers but passed hers forward only. She got up out of her seat and handed Squall's to Quistis directly. "Squalls?" She questioned. 

"Yeah... he's not here this moment. He wasn't feeling to well when he woke up." Rinoa explained with a light smile. Quistis nodded in understanding and placed the paper on her desk. She went around and picked up each rows papers and placed them on her desk as well. 

"Class... before we begin. I'd like to go over one crucial rule here at Garden that we seemed to have forgotten." Quistis began with a stern voice, looking directly to Seifer who sat cockily in his seat. "Remember, when 'training' with one another, there must be no bodily harm done to the other person! And, when sparring with one another, you need teacher approval." She told them, looking over each individually, mainly focusing on Seifer. "Well... with that out of the way... let's begin!" She said with an enthusiastic look. 

The class finally ended and Rinoa was glad to be free from the hell prison. She walked out of the class and looked down to her watch. 'Class got out early tod-' Her thoughts were cut off when she smacked into someone, hard. She looked up to find that a much smaller girl had fallen down from their crash just seconds ago. 

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Rinoa apologized whole heartedly as she helped the other girl get up.

"Oh no! It's alright. Nothing was broken... I'm fine!" The girl explained with a smile and a sweet voice. "My name's Selphie. What's yours?" The girl, Selphie, asked. 

"Rinoa." Rinoa answered. 

"I'm a transfer student from Trabia Garden." She said with a little smile. Rinoa looked her over. She was wearing a standard Garden outfit and her hair was curly and brown. 

"Nice to meet you." Rinoa said with a smile as she shook her hand. "Allow me to show you around!" Rinoa offered very helpfully. 

"Oh no! I'd be wasting to much of your time." Selphie told her with a tiny shake of her hand. 

"Nonsense!" Rinoa proclaimed. "I've got nowhere to go!" She insisted. 

"Well... are you sure?" Selphie asked, making sure. 

"Yes! Now come on." Rinoa commanded, slightly frustrated. 

"... and this is the Cafeteria!" Rinoa exclaimed proudly, as if it was her child. Selphie looked past Rinoa and found it to be a mess of students chatting quite loudly. She walked in a bit and Rinoa followed her until something caught her eye. Rinoa quickly stepped in front of her, shielding her from whatever it was. 

"What?" Selphie asked. Rinoa pointed trio of people, one with an eye patch, one with practically no shirt, and another with a long, gray coat. "Who are they?" She asked, looking them over a bit.

"I call them fucktarts." Rinoa whispered into her ear. Selphie nodded, but gave her a weird look regardless. "But... the one with the eye patch is Fuijin, the one with the no shirt is Raijin, and the one with trench coat is Seifer. Don't go near him." Rinoa warned cautiously. "Now... act natural as we pass by them. I want you to meet some people." Rinoa told her. Selphie nodded in understanding and they began to walk along, trying to act casual. Their steps were awkward and clumsy and their hand movements were not the least bit natural. 

"Hello there Rinoa!" A husky voice called. Rinoa cursed silently, but mouthed it quite explicitly. She turned and found Seifer with a big dumb grin on his face. 

"What?" She asked rudely. He walked towards her with an odd strut. She crossed her arms sourly. 

"Hey baby... what's with the attitude?" He asked grabbing her hands and putting them strangely close to his crotch area. She snatched her hands away and smacked him. "... anyways... Who's the new girl? She's hot." Seifer said, recovering quickly from the smack. 

"She's not new!" Rinoa exclaimed, she kicked Selphie lightly and discreetly in the leg. 

"Yeah. I've been here awhile!" Selphie told him, backing up Rinoa's lie. 

"Bull shit." Seifer yelled, calling their bluff. Rinoa diverted her eyes. 

"Just piss off." Rinoa commanded. She backed away from him and spit on his shoe. She turned around with a whirl and so did Selphie, following her example. 

*

Squall placed his standard Garden jacket on over his white t-shirt and headed out the door. He walked down the dormitory halls, avoiding the occasional 'hi Squall' and 'Good luck Squall!'. He hated being talked to. Well... there WAS one exception. 

"GODDAMIT SQUALL!! LISTEN TO ME!!!" A voice screamed from behind him and right in his ear. He cupped his hand over his ear, turned around and was about to scream right back at the person until he noticed who it was, Rinoa, with someone behind her. 

"WHAT!?!?" He screamed back, just as loud, even though he didn't want to. The students around them looked at them curiously. 

"I've been calling you for the past minute! You wouldn't answer!" She scolded as she pointed a threatening finger at him. He swatted it out of the way. She glared at him, but went on. "This is Selphie." She said as she pushed Selphie in front of her and to him. 

"Hello! I'm Selphie Tilmitt. And you are?" She greeted in a very friendly manner, extending her hand, ready for a hardy shake. She got nothing of the sort. She stared at him for awhile and he just stared right back. 

"He doesn't talk much." Rinoa whispered into her ear, Selphie nodded in agreement. 

"I'm going." Squall told them and he turned and continued on to his destination. Rinoa sighed in annoyance, but didn't chase after him. 

"Don't take it personally." Rinoa told her. 

"I wasn't planning on it." Selphie said with a little giggle. 

"Good... because he can get to you like that." Rinoa warned. "Now I'll show my dorm! It's so cool! I love it..."

*

Quistis tapped her foot impatiently on the cement that was outside the Garden halls. The sun was blazing down and she was thankful for choosing to wear a spaghetti strap shirt and short-shorts. The wind was of a fair knot which cooled the day considerably. 

She sighed and looked to her watch... thirty minutes late he was. She was just about to give up when Squall appeared from the staircase. She began to walk for him, meeting him half way. She looked him over. She was truly amazed that he was wearing all those clothes. 

"I can't believe you're wearing all that!" Quistis exclaimed in surprise. 

"I can't believe that's all you're wearing." Squall said in a mocking tone. Quistis glared at him. 

'He must be so hot underneath those clothes... I wonder if I ripped all of his clothes off he would-' Quistis stopped herself mid thought. '... you're perverse...' She told herself as she turned from him. 

"Lets go." She commanded. 

"Good. I wanna get this stupid thing done." Squall told her in a disgusted sounding tone. 

"We will..." Quistis said, trailing her sentence off. "Don't get your nuts in a twist..." She whispered as they headed out for the Fire Cavern. 

*

Rinoa entered her room, alone. Selphie had gone back to her dorm after realizing she still needed to put up Garden's website as promised. Being honest, Rinoa was thankful. Not because Selphie was an annoying person, it was just that she was afraid Squall was naked in here or something. 

"Squall?" She called out as she closed the door behind her. The open blinds let the fair daylight in, casting plenty of light through the room. "Oh Squally-Squall!" She called once more in a cuter fashion, knowing that would get him out if he was hiding. No one came. She sighed and threw herself into her bed, tired from nothing. She looked at the clock and realized that it was already 4:38 pm. Squall was going on his prerequisite piece-o-shit thing. 

She looked around her room, checking to see if there was any of Squall's things lying about. There was... his beautiful, yet demonic looking, necklace. She walked to the desk, where it lied and picked it up in steady hands, pocketed it and left to find Squall out on the plains of Balamb. 

*

"All right..." Quistis began as they entered the fire cavern. "We've got thirty minutes to complete this. So let's get crackin'!" Quistis prompted. Squall nodded in agreement and they both ran down the narrow path of melted rock. Lava, looking like the pit of hell, surrounded them. The walls were red and looked like plastic had been placed in a microwave for a bit to long. 

As they ran, a bomb jumped out from in front of them and one behind them. Quistis was the lead through the dungeon so she took the head one while Squall took the one behind them. Quistis whipped it into two clean pieces and it fell to the ground, dead. 

"I'm done." Quistis proclaimed. 

"So am I." Squall told her. Quistis looked beyond him to find the mangled body of the bomb. 

"Then... lets continue!" Quistis said proudly, not trying to act too impressed. They continued on in silence, slowing themselves down to a jog do to the extreme heat. Squall's brow was like a water fall, it gushed with sweat, after all he was wearing his heavy Garden jacket and carrying his extremely heavy gunblade around. 

After a few minutes they came to an area where the path was unimaginably narrow and below was nothing, darkness. 

"Holy shit..." Quistis whispered in amazement as she backed away from the forbidding chasm of doom. 

"C'mon!" Squall complained as he pushed her slightly, making her stumble forward a little bit forward. 

"Don't rush me!" Quistis demanded as she turned to him with a cross look. 'I don't remember this being here last time...' She noted, remembering last time it was just like any other normal part of the cavern. 

"What are you doing?" Squall asked annoyed from behind her. She turned to see him, his arms folded across his chest, looking annoyed. 

"Just... thinking." She confessed in a light voice, she turned back to the chasm. She moved to it, cautiously and poked her foot on the natural bridge, making sure it was sturdy. She poked harder, nothing happened. Feeling comfortable she took a deep breath and crossed. She wobbled a bit as she crossed, only adding to the terror. She rose her arms lightly which made the cross easier. She finally made it across and sighed a breath of relief. 

Squall looked to the bridge, then walked across. Casual his walk was, like crossing the street to get a post box. Quistis rolled her eyes and sighed in disgust. 

"You want to make me look like a total freak, don't you?" Quistis asked him, mad as her hands rested on her hips. His eyes weren't on hers, they were looking beyond her. She turned around to see what he was looking at... it was a whole row of chasms like that! "I'm gonna die..." Quistis cried as she moved onto the next one, trying to be bold. 

* 

Rinoa walked out onto the plains, her pinwheel ready to deal some damage just in case. She held the necklace tighter in her hand as her eyes wandered throughout the plains of Balamb, looking for Squall. The wind was strong as it swept through the plains causing the grass to sway and the bushes to dance. 

"Fire Cavern..." She thought aloud, trying to remember where it was. She had just taken the prerequisite last week, and they all went by car and those dumb Garden cars have no windows for some bizarre reason so she couldn't quite see where she was. "If I was a Fire Cavern, where would I be?" She asked, pondering as she tapped her finger to her chin lightly. She pulled out her compass, she was facing north, which was towards the sea. "West is where Fire would hide." She finally proclaimed. She headed in the western direction until an odd singing voice caught her in its harmonious tone. It remained on one note, and one note alone. She stopped dead in her tracks, and she began to scan for the source of the sound. "What... what is that?" She asked no one, sounding almost hypnotic. 

The voice rang up higher and to a different note. It came from the left of Rinoa. She swung her head in the direction and walked in that direction. Curiosity eating her from the inside, she picked up her pace. She traveled over a large hill, and walked down the other side to find the source of the singing. There was a girl in a light blue top, a black skirt and a shawl that hung loosely in her arms. Her shoulder length brown hair played with the wind. Her back was turned as Rinoa was not able to get a good look of her. Rinoa stepped forward a bit and the girl in blue turned around to face her, stopping her song. Her eyes were sunk and a smile was decorated on her face, it was almost as if she was hypnotized into a singing trance or something. 

"Excuse me... what are you doing up there? Are you lost?" Rinoa asked, generally concerned as she advanced forward with ever so tiny steps. The girl in blue just stood on top of the hill and looked down upon her. The women inhaled deeply and a powerful, low song note blasted out. It wasn't painful, but annoying as it felt almost like a tune up. 

Rinoa's hands began to shake as the sound continued which caused her to drop Squall's necklace to the ground. Her arms also began to shake lightly. She pulled them close to her face. 

"What's going on?" Rinoa asked in a very worried tone. Her knees suddenly buckled beneath her and she fainted onto the green hill side, Squall's necklace splayed near her on the hill... 

* 

"Second to last one!" Quistis exclaimed excitedly as she ran across it, brave as ever. Once again, Squall took his time, hands in his pockets and crossed casually. "We're almost there." Quistis stated, pointing to the large pit, full of bubbling magma. 

"Finally." Squall exclaimed, annoyed at the amount of time they had wasted crossing all those damn natural bridges. "How much time is left?" He asked, walking past Quistis, wanting to cross the next bridge first. 

"There's ten minutes left. I'm sorry I slowed you down." Quistis apologized as she waited for him to cross. 

'You should be sorry...' Squall thought sternly. He wish he could smack her and say hurry the fuck up... but he couldn't do that. 

"Hurry up." He commanded as he finished crossing. She ran across, and just as she got to the side, the bridge beneath her broke and she fell. A strong hand grabbed onto hers and began to lift her up. She helped him by helping herself up along the way. When she reached the top, she embraced Squall. 

"OH THANK YOU!" Quistis cried, almost in tears. "I could have died!" She said, hugging him tighter. He pushed her off of him quickly and stood. 

"Look, I just did what I had to. I'm going to pass this!" He exclaimed. "I need you alive to pass." He reminded her as he walked for the bubbling pool of magma. 

"Oh..." Quistis whispered under her breath as she stood and followed Squall. They stepped to the area surrounding the pool and from that pool, a large quantity of dripping magma emerged. 

"I am pleased you have made it here... Your strength, skill and heart must be prime." A voice noted. The voice was deep and everywhere. "You shall need of my powers. I sense a disturbance in time and sound. A great moment of awakening? A world ending? A dream coming? Or... more important?" The voice continued to question. Squall and Quistis stared on at the blob of magma with attentive ears. "Here. I grant you my power oh blade wielder." The voice said. A bright red light grew on Squall's hand, and then faded. "The power of Fire and this Hell of natural causes is yours. Be wary of power." The voice told him, the magma blob sank back into the smoldering pit and the lava in the cavern froze over. "I shall give you 20 minutes to leave my cave with it solidified. No longer will you need a path. The once dark chasms are now filled with frozen lava. Good luck on your travels. I shall see you one day later." The voice said, and disappeared into the vastness of silence. 

They exited the cave, the Garden officials outside staring at them. As the sun drenched their bodies, they covered their eyes with their hands in a lame attempt to rid the sun. 

"Congratulations." One of them said. Squall nodded and saluted them proudly as did Quistis. The officials nodded them away and they did so to head back for Garden. 

* 

Rinoa picked herself up from the green hill side, thoughts running through her head. To many to fast. She placed a shaking hand to her head. Her hand this time, was from pure shock. The weather was still sunny, windy and peaceful. She flicked her head up to see if the strange women was still there, but she was not. She was gone from her position atop the hill. Rinoa let her head droop back down so she was staring at the grass. 

"Raine..." She whispered delicately, recalling what memories she had of her dream. She looked around, a bit more conscious now and found Squall's necklace lying on the ground. "Oh shit!" She yelled, grabbing it hastily and run back towards Garden with it, figuring that Squall was done by now. She continued to run back to Garden, which was in plain view until something white next to her caught her eye. She stopped and looked to it. It was a shawl... a white shawl... 

********* 

A/n: Gooddoomit! Fanfiction.net won't let these REALLY good reviews get posted! Piece-o-poopy! ... they were so nice too! They were all like this story is so good and I was all like blushing... n'junk n'stuff... and they said my writing was good as well! Wow! I'm so happy! FF.net just hates me I guess. 

And to CelestSpring... thank you for the constructive criticism! You know... it being my first and all. And yet I just can't seem to continue the those scenes, dammit... but that's just how I connect things together (even though they could be a bit meatier... I'll work on that). Oh! And the battle scene... I can't write battle scenes worth shit, so I fill in the time with them yelling at each other. And I wanted to show Seifer as I total psycho, and yes, there are motives... ^ _ ^. 

P.S. Don't expect the same your story you got during the game... a much different one in fact. Things change... like the whole outer space thing. It's planned in but it's changed beyond belief.... MWHAHA!! And don't worry... I don't favor any particular character. Remember, for future reference, they both do bad deeds. 


	3. Sea of Twilight Blood: Watch the Fish

**~* When the Sky is High *~**

~ _Chapter THREE: Sea of Twilight Blood: Watch the Fish ~ _

A/n: Prepare for a much more romantic chapter... I'll be switching off between serious and romantic or mix the two... whatever!

_***********************************************_

Rinoa stood a few feet away from the shawl of white. It was that girl's. The girl that she had seen on the hill who played that mysterious song. She stepped towards it, cautiously for a reason unknown to her. A wind suddenly picked up and the scarf shuffled along the grassy plains, away from her and out of sight. She stared after it, recalling her dream with the person known as 'Raine'. 

She opened her hand which revealed Squall's pendant, she held it to her face. She felt something tug inside her as she looked upon it. The sun reflected off of the beautiful necklace and a memory from her dream came to the front of her mind. 

"Raine..." She said quietly as her grip tightened around the necklace. Her head turned towards Garden and another wind picked up, her hair dancing in the free wind. She turned her body towards the large blue complex and started for it. 

*

Quistis and Squall entered the main hall of Garden and, just as it usually is, was lively. Students mingled on the benches, hurried to their next destination or read a book on another bench. 

"The Garden seems unusually active today." Quistis pointed out, looking around at all the students. Squall remained silent to the knowledge he had just heard. "What do you think?" She asked. 

"I don't know." He told her plainly. He stepped ahead and wanted to walk away but Quistis stayed in pace with him. They walked for a bit until Squall turned to her, frustrated. "What do you want?" He asked, a solitary on a side of his hip. 

"I was just following." She confessed, a bit perplexed at his sudden outbreak. 

"Well... why don't you go follow someone else!?" He asked, becoming cross with her.

"I wasn't following." She told him, secretly smirking on the inside. She wanted to piss him off so badly. 

"You just said you were!" Squall told her, his teeth clenched together, hard. 

"No I didn't!" She yelled right back in his face, wanting to make a scene. 

"Whatever." He said coolly, finally giving up. He turned and walked away from her, Quistis only chased after him. 

"What's wrong?" She asked, acting interested. 

'Oh for god sakes...' He thought, extremely annoyed. "Nothing." He lied. His paced picked up, thinking that would shake her off. Of course it didn't. He stopped and turned to her. "I'm going to my dorm. Don't follow me anymore." He commanded, turned and left. Quistis did as she was told. She rolled her eyes with a smirk, proud that her mission was accomplished. She turned and headed for the elevator, which would take her to the teacher's dormitories. 

Rinoa entered Garden, still thinking about her dream and holding Squall's necklace. She fondled the necklace lightly in her hands which caused it to move about ever so lightly. She continued her thoughts until her eyes caught site of instructor Trepe about to board the elevator. 

"Ms. Trepe!" Rinoa called, now fully awake from her dream. She ran to the instructor who had stopped and turned to her. Quistis smiled and so did Rinoa. 

"Please call me Quistis, Rinoa." She insisted. "Now what is it I can do for you?" She asked, eyeing her curiously. 

"Well, I know you were with Squall when you went to the Fire Cavern for the prerequisite. Do you might know where he has gone to?" Rinoa asked, cocking her head to the side lightly. 

"Yes, I do in fact." Quistis said with a cute little smile as her finger pointed up, meaning she wanted Rinoa to listen. "He said he was going to his dorm, but he told me that when I was getting on his nerves... so... he could be just about anywhere!" She said with a laugh. Rinoa smiled at the good humor from her instructor.

"I'll try his dorm room first then. Thank you Instructor Trepe-I mean... Quistis!" She corrected herself as she ran off, waving a hand behind her. She turned her head around so she could see Quistis but ended up smashing herself straight into a student. 

"Oh dear..." Quistis sighed hopelessly with a little smile. 

Rinoa fell down onto her butt with a loud crash from the person she had ran into. She closed her eyes and began to rub her butt, trying to rid the pain from her. 

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." She moaned in pain quietly. 

"Oh my gosh!" A deep voice exclaimed. His voice sounded somewhat excited for some bizarre reason. Rinoa opened her eyes and found herself staring at a blonde spiky haired man, a small tattoo on the right side of his face. He was carrying a large, brown box full of nothing as the contents had spilled out during their crash. "I'm so sorry!" He apologized. He placed the box down next to him and offered a hand to Rinoa who gladly took it. He helped her up and onto her feet. They stared at each other for a moment, both of them looking like a deer caught in head lights. 

"This is awkward..." Rinoa whispered, her eyes shifting around. "Oh my!" She exclaimed, looking to the ground with all of the spilled goods. She pulled away from him immediately and dropped to her knees and began to pick up the belongings. "I'm so sorry! I should have been watching where I was going!" She exclaimed, very apologetically. She hurriedly grabbed his things, afraid he had somewhere to go. 

"There's no need to be so apologetic." He told her with a smile as he grabbed her hands in one of his own. "There was nothing valuable in there in the first place." He confessed, looking around at all the stuff. There were pencils, a few papers, pens, stapler and everything you would need for an office. 

"Well..." Rinoa began, looking at all the stuff in her hands. "I'm still very sorry!" She confessed. 

"It's really alright. It's okay." He reassured her. 

"What have you done this time, Rinoa?" A sweet voice came from behind them. They both turned and found Selphie, a charming smile on her face. 

"I'm being a klutz." Rinoa told her with a sad tone as she placed his belongings in his brown box that he had previously placed on the floor. 

"Poor Rinny!" Selphie sympathized as she patted her friend on the head. She looked to the man with spiky blonde hair. "Oooohhh..." Selphie began as she licked her lips at just how attractive the boy was. "Who is your cute friend?" She asked as she placed her elbows on Rinoa's head and let her head rest in her own palms, her butt protruding quite in the air. 

"Ummm... I don't know." Rinoa told her, the realization suddenly dawning on her. "I just ran into him. Never asked his name. I'm being so rude!" Rinoa quickly realized as she stood up in a hurry, knocking Selphie to the ground. "I'm Rinoa Heartilly." Rinoa greeted as she extended a hand to him. 

"I'm Zell. Zell Dincht." He told her as he shook her hand with a smile. He looked to Selphie who was just getting up onto her feet. "And who is she?" Zell asked, releasing Rinoa's hand just as she did with him. 

"I'm Selphie Tilmitt." She greeted with a hardy hand shake that caused Zell's whole arm to wave like some kind of tentacle. Zell's face contorted to painful looking one. 

"Selphie stop!" Rinoa commanded, pulling Selphie's hand away from Zell's. "I think you're hurting him!" Rinoa cried. "Are you okay?" She asked, turning to Zell. 

"Uhh... yeah! I'm fine!" Zell insisted, hiding his red, pulsing hand behind his back. 

"Oh good!" Rinoa said with a smile. She brought her hand up to scratch her head until she felt something cold against her skin. She looked down and it was Squall's necklace in her hand. "Almost forgot..." She thought aloud in a shameful manner. 

"Forgot what?" Selphie asked. She saw what Rinoa was holding over her shoulder. "... and that is?" She asked, poking it lightly. 

"Something of Squalls." She told her, moving away a bit, towards the dorm area. "I'm sorry I have to return this to him!" She apologized once more and ran off for Squall's dorm. 

"She likes to apologize, doesn't she?" Zell asked, looking from the running Rinoa to Selphie. 

"Yep!" Selphie said with a smile. "You have no idea!" She cried very loudly and slapped him on the back, causing Zell to stumble forward a bit. 

"734.. 734... 734... 734..." Rinoa repeated quietly as she scanned the dorm room numbers on their doors. Her hand was lightly out stretched as it bounced from number to number. "Stupid Squall has to get room 734... couldn't have been room 1 or something?" She complained under her breath. She finally came across the room she was looking for. 

She lifted her hand to knock, but before she did she combed her Garden uniform out neatly. She finally knocked and there was no answer. She knocked once more, still no answer. She slammed her hands repeatedly against the door like a child having a hissy-fit, and yet there was no answer. 'That usually gets him out...' She thought curiously, then Rinoa remembered what Quistis had told her. 

_"He said he was going to his dorm, but he told me that when I was getting on his nerves... so... he could be just about anywhere!" Quistis said with a laugh._

"Oh right." Rinoa sighed in disappointment, sad after all that searching for his room. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head. She snapped her fingers in delight, a smile on her face. She ran off, down the hall, towards the parking garage. 

She opened the door to the garage and looked for the license plate that read '8HJK23'. She could memorize such obscure license plate numbers, but couldn't remember simple dorm room numbers. A few minutes later, she had looked through all the cars and had not found the one she was looking for. 

"Thought so..." She whispered as she ran for the official Garden motorcycle (yes, they have one). She hopped on it, started it up and drove off and out of Garden. 

"So... Zell..." Selphie began as they walked out of Garden. She locked her arm with his. "Tell me a little about yourself." Selphie proposed with a little smile. 

"You get awfully close to people you just meet." Zell told her in a suspicious manner. 

"I'm just friendly!" She corrected as she slapped him lightly on the shoulder. 

"Ummm... okay." Zell said, not knowing what to do as they placed one foot on the road.

"What about you... are you-" Selphie was cut off as girl on a motorcycle raced by at high speeds, just inches away from them. A strong wind current from the bike caused their clothes and hair to blow in the cycle's direction. "Wow... we have a speeder on our hands." Selphie said as she looked at the cycle disappearing image. 

"Was that Rinoa?" Zell questioned, looking at the distant cycle as well. 

"Rinoa? Really?" Selphie exclaimed. "How could you have possibly seen her? She was going so fast." Selphie asked, truly amazed. He shrugged and began to cross the street with her. 

"I recognize people's figures and not features I guess." He told her. "It's kind of a habit." He said, almost apologetically. 

"That's cool..." Selphie whispered, finding Zell even more interesting.

*

Rinoa's hair blew around frantically with the wind. It flicked around wildly and occasionally hit her eyes and mouth and tickled her face. The wind blew up her skirt with ease, allowing it to billow around and allowing access to all the cold air up it. 

The plains of Balamb whizzed by and seemed to mesh together because of her speed. The grass, damp with a strange dew, reflected the setting sun with a brilliance. It was like another sea. The real sea itself was that of pure twilight. It's magnitude of light was hypnotic and blinding. It felt greater and better than the sun itself for it was much prettier indeed. 

'I can't believe I'm doing this...' Rinoa thought to herself. 'It's just a necklace and besides I can wait for him when he comes back!' She continued, questioning her actions. 'Or is it I just want to see him... Shit! What if he isn't even there and my hunch was wrong... I'd be the worst girlfriend ever.' She complained silently. She was about to continue her thoughts when she saw the town of Balamb came into view. She slowed down the speed of the cycle, in preparation to enter. 

She parked the bike in a small parking lot filled with other assorted cars. She prayed silently that it wouldn't be stolen and ran off to where she thought her beloved Squall was. She weaved her way through the cars and revealed herself to the entrance of Balamb. She looked around a moment, looking for any signs of the harbor, she found none and walked to a man on a nearby bench. 

"Excuse me sir..." She began to the man. The man looked to her with a cheerful smile and she smiled back. "Which way to the harbor?" She asked. The man pointed to a road near the hotel. "Thank you very much." She thanked with a little nod and went on her way. 

She arrived at the harbor and looked around for a moment. She stepped further into the harbor and looked about some more. There was no one. 

"Oh god..." She sighed. "I AM the worst girlfriend ever!" She cried being disgusted in herself. 

"Why are you here?" A husky voice asked from far away. Her self-esteem returned and looked to the source of the sound and found Squall. He was sitting on the edge of the pier, his legs dangling over and a cigarette in his hand. She smiled, mainly to herself and walked towards him. She took a seat next to him and let her legs hang over the side as she sucked in the view of the twilight sea. 

"It smells like..." Rinoa began letting her sentence as she tried to find the right words.

"The sea?" Squall questioned, finishing her sentence as he took another puff of his cigarette. 

"Well... yeah." She said with a little giggle as she rolled her eyes. "I was thinking of something more descriptive." She told him. 

"Salty, fishy, crappy... take your pick." Squall said as the smoke from the cigarette faded seamlessly into the wind. She looked to his cigarette and frowned upon it. 

"You said you would quit." Rinoa reminded him. 

"This is my first one in... a long time." He confessed, still not looking at her, only the sea of twilight. 

"Really?" She asked, just making sure he was telling the truth. 

"Really." He reiterated for her. 

"Then why did you start again so suddenly?" She asked, trying to pull the truth from him.

"Stressed." He answered her. The answer was understandable, what with all the hubbub about finals and the like, but Rinoa questioned it anyways. 

"I don't believe you." She said with little smile, calling his bluff. 

"Old habits die hard." He told her, sort of confessing. 

"When will that habit die?" She asked, shaking her head in distaste. "When you get a new addictive habit?" She asked, teasing him slightly.

"I already have another addictive habit..." He told her as he tossed the cigarette into the sea. The little waves tossed the cigarette around lightly and cooled its fire instantly. Squall turned his head to her and she was quickly lost in his mysterious eyes. The eyes she fell in love with so long ago. 

"W-What would that habit be?" She stuttered, trying to find her way out his eyes. 

"I've had this addictive habit for the past few years. It's so hard to get rid of... and yet I don't want it to leave." He confessed. Rinoa had an extremely vague idea where this was going. He stared deep into her eyes and lightly placed his hands over hers. "I don't want it to go away. I don't want it to leave." Squall said. "I don't want you to leave me... ever." He confessed, emotion shining through his cold tone. 

"I won't..." Rinoa told him. She embraced him and he did the same with her. As she leaned over for the hug, Squall's necklace softly slid out of her pocket and onto the wooden pier. It caught his eyes immediately and slowly let go of her and picked the necklace up. He looked at her questioningly. "You left it on your desk..." She told him, slowly releasing her hold on him. "I thought it was your good luck charm or something..." She whispered tenderly. He placed it around his neck, where it should have been the whole time.

"It's not really..." He told her. "It's just a necklace." He said, rubbing it softly against the tips of his fingers. There was silence as Rinoa continued to stare at it with awe. It's not that she hadn't stared at it before but this time it felt different. The setting sun was reflecting off of it, making it's brilliance all the more. "I think we should head back." He suggested as he stood, breaking Rinoa's site to the pendant. He offered a hand to her, she took it and stood. 

"Oh! Squall I have a very interesting story to tell you on the drive back!" Rinoa began. "Well.. while I was looking for you..." Rinoa's voice trailed off in Squall's mind as his hand grabbed hers and their fingers intertwined, even Rinoa stopped her story in surprise. She looked down to it, surprised he had made contact and in public. She looked up to him, then forward, towards his car. She remained silent, embracing the moment that was so rare.

*

The next day Rinoa awoke in her own bed, the sunlight had woken her and not the alarm as she had thought. She looked over to her alarm clock and cursed quietly, angry that it did not go off. 

"Now I'm gonna be late..." She complained with a scowl on her face. She got off of her bed and walked for her dresser and shuffled threw some clothes. She was in no rush, she was tired from last night. Squall and her had not gone home directly after they left Balamb. They instead went to the beach and watched the sun finish setting and the stars release their sparkling glory. 

"Why would you be late? Don't you know it's the weekend?" A low voice asked. It wasn't Squall's, that's for sure. She turned towards the doorway, where the sound had come from and found Zell and Selphie. Zell was leaning against the door way while Selphie was propped up by his shoulder. 

"AHHH!!" Rinoa screamed as she tossed a nearby boot at him. It hit him square in the face and he fell backwards and into the hallway. "What the HELL are you doing here!?" She screamed furiously. "I'm barely even dressed!" She yelled once more. 

"Rinny, what are you talking about?" Selphie asked in a worried manner as she looked her over. Rinoa looked at her with a perplexed face and she looked down at what she was wearing. Squall's boxers and button-up formal shirt. She became shifty eyed, curious and scared at the same time at where she got the clothes from. "You're fully clothed." Selphie said, stating the obvious. 

"With a guys clothes no less!" Zell followed up quickly as he stood. Rinoa snarled at him for pointing the fact out to Selphie. 

"Oh my!" She exclaimed, placing a hand over her mouth. "They're Squall's clothes!" She exclaimed once more with a tiny little giggle. 

"Shut up..." She whispered harshly to them. "Come in before all of Garden sees me like this!" She commanded sternly. They entered and shut the door behind them. "Now... no more talk of this! **I** don't even know how I ended up in these clothes!" She told them, gesturing extensively to try to make her point all the more clear. 

"Whatever Rin, whatever!" Zell said, brushing it off. Rinoa was relieved at Zell's awareness of just how she uncomfortable she really was. "Anyways... Our final is today!!!" He screamed, very loudly. 

"Keep it down you frickin' idiot!" Selphie commanded as Zell received a hard slap to the head. 

"And besides... you think we don't know?" Rinoa asked, a bit amazed at how Zell could be so stupid. He shrugged. 

"Just a reminding announcement." He told her with a genuine smile. 

"Well, in any case... Think we should go check who's paired with who in our teams?" Selphie suggested. The two nodded, and then stood there in silence. 

"Get out! I have to change!" Rinoa screamed, annoyed as she turned around towards her dresser. They both giggled, went outside, closed her door and waited patiently. 

In 30 minutes she revealed herself. She was in her normal Garden outfit and smelling pretty because of her shower and light perfume. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. Zell sniffed the air tenderly. 

"Perfume? Why?" He questioned, sniffing her all over like some kind of dog. She pushed him off of her with a disgusted look on her face. 

"Because... I want to smell beautiful all the time!" She told him with a bright smile as they walked down the dorm room halls. 

"You want to smell good for Squall just incase he decides to give you a hickie!" Selphie exclaimed, quite loudly in fact. 

"Oh shut up Selphie!" Rinoa demanded sternly as her speed picked up. 

They all got to the team member sheet and looked it over. Their eyes scanned for their names as did other students around them. They continuously kept being bumped around by the people as they tried to view their own teams. Rinoa finally caught site of her name and looked at the team number. It was 13. She looked at all the people in her group. There was Squall, Zell and Seifer. She cursed under her breath at the fact that Selphie was not with them and that the huge shit face fucktart, aka. Seifer, was with them. 

"I'm a messenger girl!" Selphie complained with a cry of hopelessness. "This sucks!" She cried. 

"Now, now!" A low voice said from behind them, it was Mr. Kramer. "My first star pupil ever had that job. He has 20 scars to prove it, to!" He said with a cheerful smile as he trotted away. 

"Oh my god..." Selphie said shaking her head. 

******************* 

A/n: Another chapter... check! 

Please Review! It boosts my self-esteem and makes me write faster! Tee-Hee! 


	4. City of Soldiers: Walk Down The Street, ...

_~ Chapter 4: City of Soldiers: Walk Down the Street, I Dare You ~_

A/n: I'm feeling like there should be lots of blood shed... so there will be... everyone (minor characters that no one gives a shit about) shall be mangled and torn to bits! Tee-Hee!

P.s.: I'm going to be leaning more towards Squinoa... just 'cause I love that couple! Tee-Hee (again)

_****************************************************_

"Wow..." Selphie began awestruck as she got out of the car at the Balamb Pier. It was a sunny day and the air was of salt and fish. Out on the water, the blue submarines carrying the students waited for the last sub to be filled, theirs. "This is so cool." Selphie finally continued after taking in the scenery. 

"Hey!" A deep voice yelled from behind her. "Move it!" He commanded. A hand reached out of the car and pushed Selphie out of the way and out stepped Seifer. Selphie snarled at him and was about to kick him until a hand touched her shoulder. She turned around and found that it was Quistis with a smiling face. Selphie smiled back casually and walked for the blue sub that waited at the harbor. 

"Come on now!" Quistis called into the car. "We're the last ones so hurry up!" She commanded as she pulled her head back from inside the car and walked for the sub. Zell was next to emerge. He stretched and yawned quite loudly, blocking the only way through. Rinoa pushed him over and exited the car. 

"You really need to move your ass more often..." Rinoa mumbled to Zell with a glare as she walked for the sub. Squall came out just after her. The three walked to the sub in silence and entered just the same. 

*

"That's it!" Rinoa exclaimed, pleased at their mission orders. "There's no more?" She asked, just making sure. She sat forward in her seat, expecting a bad answer. 

"That's it!" Xu declared with a little smile as she saw the happiness from Rinoa. Rinoa sighed with relief as she lied back in her chair. 

"So... clear the central square of all enemies?" Squall reiterated. Xu nodded. 

"This is gonna be a piece of cake!" Zell said with a smile as he punched the air with excitement. 

"Would you shut up and sit down!?" Seifer exclaimed, frustrated in his actions. Zell rolled his eyes but took his seat anyways. "... and if you're gonna punch anything at least punch your face in." Seifer continued with a smirk. Rinoa stifled a laugh and Selphie looked at her, almost disgusted that she had laughed at his joke. Now everyone was looking at her. 

"What?" She asked, embarrassment crossing her face. She looked down to her skirt, hoping to hide her eyes from everyone. Seifer put his arm around her and pulled her close. "AH!" Rinoa screamed as she was shoved into his chest. Squall snarled with disgust and turned away from the scene. "Let go of me!" Rinoa commanded as she tried to pull away but Seifer's hold was strong. 

"See Leonhart? You've got some competetion." Seifer told him with an evil smirk.

"You smell like BO.!" Rinoa cried as she struggled to get free. Seifer immediately let her go and snarled at her. 

"It's okay... You can buy some deoderant for me when we get home, isn't that right pretty?" He asked, his face inching towards her. She pushed his face away with distaste. "Oh come on... I know you love me!" He continued trying to push his face closer, but only receiving a hard push away from her hand. 

"I'm going outside." Squall stated as he stood and took a few papers with him. He walked up a short spiral stair case that lead to a viewing area on top of the sub. Rinoa glared at Seifer, stood and walked for where Squall was heading. Seifer tried to grab her arm but she kicked him in the knee cap before he could touch her. She walked up to the area where Squall was. He was looking at a map and comparing it to the scene he saw before him. Rinoa didn't bother looking at was in front of them, only him, a worried look on her face. 

"He's just being a dick..." Rinoa whispered, Squall knew what she was talking about. "He just wants to get you mad like last time." She insisted. 

"I know." He told her, turning towards her. "... but still. Arrrggghhh... GODDAMIT! He's such a fuck face." He said with a snarl. 

"Well, if its any conciliation..." She paused her sentence and looked down into the ship to see everybody looking at them. She brought her lips to his ear and whispered into them. "... he won't become a SeeD." She told him quietly. She backed away from him with a smile. 

"That's a given." He told her as he looked back to the scene that they were approaching. "We can talk more after this is done." He said in a serious tone and he went into the sub. Rinoa looked out in front to find that the town of Dollet was full of bullets, explosions and death. Her expression fell as she saw it all. 

"Rinoa, come in now!" Quistis commanded as she appeared at the stairs. Rinoa nodded to her, looked back once more to the scene and headed back inside. 

"We'll be arriving soon..." Quistis told them as she stood to walk to the captain. She was about to reach him until a large bump caused her to fall to the ground and everyone else to hurl out of their seats. 

"OW!" Selphie cried as she lied on top of Zell. She stood but another crash caused her to fall right back where she was. Suddenly the front hatch opened, revealing Dollet's beach. Selphie could see all the soldiers running everywhere and explosions so close they rocked the sub. 

"Oh!" Quistis suddenly exclaimed as she looked at the beach. She stood up from lying position and headed out of the sub. "We're here!" She told them. 

"Rinoa!" Squall exclaimed from below her body. "Your knee is jammed into my spine!" He cried in pain. She immediately stood, which caused her to accidentally step on Seifer's hand. He howled in pain and she ran off the sub, afraid of hurting anyone else. 

"Sorry!" She apologized to the two men. They all got up and headed out for the beach with a bit of struggle from the earlier bumps. 

"Okay everyone! Prepare your weapons and good luck!" Quistis stated, looking to each one with a pleased smile on her face, proud that she had taught them all (with the exception of a few). "Now go!" She commanded, pointing to the town of Dollet. 

"OH! This is so exciting!" Selphie exclaimed as she jumped about. Suddenly, a man came up to her and handed her a letter. 

"Take this to Squad 3 immediately!" He commanded and ran off. 

"Neato! My first assignment!" She said with a giddy smile as she pressed the letter close to her. She ran off into the town, leaving the others. 

"Alright you little losers." Seifer began as he drew his Hyperion from its sheath. "Lets clear out the Central Square just like ordered!" He stated as he ran into town. 

"I can't believe we have to take orders from HIM!" Zell exclaimed as the three ran after him. They ran up the short flight of stairs to the paved street where they met Seifer again. 

"Okay... I think we should keep a close look out for any enemy activity now." Rinoa advised. The three men nodded in understanding and they continued through the town, down the road. Squall took a look around to find that none of the buildings were damaged and that the windows were boarded up or had steel bars in front of them. 

"Hey! Look lively Leonhart!" Seifer commanded. Squall shook himself from his previous thoughts to find that 4 Galbadian soldiers had just jumped down from a bridge above them. One was running towards Squall. He unsheathed his gunblade, rolled under the soldiers swipe, stood and thwacked off his head with a clean cut. Squall looked over to Rinoa to see if she was having trouble, she wasn't. She had pinned the Soldier to a wall and was pummeling his face in with her pin wheel at close range. At such close range, it ejected and came back rapidly. Fortunately for the soldier, she put the pin wheel on its blunt setting. After a while, the soldier fell to the ground, dead or just placed into a coma. Zell and Seifer had already finished off their soldier. 

"Ready!" Rinoa told them all and they ran ahead. 

"Squad 3... Squad 3..." Selphie repeated as she walked through Dollet, searching various Garden students. She came across a group and smiled, she had a feeling this was Squad 3. "Are you Squad 3!?" She called over to them. 

"For the last damn time! NO!" They screamed. "Stop following us!" The demanded as they ran off. Selphie sighed. 

"I'm never going to become a SeeD." She said quietly as she shook her head. 

"We're Squad 3!" Someone called from behind her. She turned with a bright smile and ran to them and handed the letter off. "Could you take this to Squad 13? It's extremely important." A man said as he handed the letter to her. She nodded and ran off. 

"Squad 13... Rinoa's Squad!" She cheered with a smile as her run increased its pace. 

"The Central Square is clear for the 5th fucking time!" Rinoa exclaimed to Seifer in a very agitated voice. "Happy NOW!?" She asked, becoming the ever more frustrated. 

"Yes. Your master is happy now go away you dumb bitch! Oh, and if you ever want Squall to mount you, stop acting like a freaking bitch all the time, dumbass." Seifer said in a very cocky manner as he took a seat on the side part of the fountain. He crossed his legs and arms and held his head high. Rinoa's face became blank and she stepped in front of him. 

"Seifer." She began. He looked to her and a hard smack came raging across his face causing his head to whip in that direction as if it was whip lash. 

"ow." Seifer whispered as he touched his red cheek slightly. 

"Never, ever talk to me like that!" Rinoa said venomously between clenched teeth. 

"I'm the captain... I wouldn't do that again if I were you." He warned with a little smile on his face. She slapped him again, and just as hard. 

"I don't give a flying fuck if you're the captain or not! Never talk to me that-UGH!" Rinoa was about to finish her sentence until Seifer grabbed her throat and pinned her against the side of a building. 

"Look you little fucking bitch!" He began, his lips only centimeters from hers. "You talk to me like that again and I swear to god that I will kill you and kill that piece of shit boyfriend you have as well!" He told her venemously. 

"UGH!" She cried again, trying to pull off Seifer's hand. 

"Fuck off!" Squall demanded as he shoved Seifer off of Rinoa. Rinoa fell to the ground and gasped for air as she touched her neck slightly. It hurt, badly and there would be bruises later. 

"Look, Puberty Boy! I know you just want to fuck her up! So do it already!" Seifer advised to him as he backed away slowly as Squall advanced. Squall remained silent. "I'm sure she's good! I could never get her into my bed." Seifer told him as he backed away ever faster. Squall looked to Rinoa out of the corner of his eye and saw the tears forming at her eye lids. He flipped Seifer off and ran back to Rinoa. He knelt by her and wrapped and arm around her shoulders gently. 

"You shouldn't have done anything..." Rinoa told him. 

"Don't say that." He insisted as he pulled her closer. She rested her head on his shoulder as the tears faded into nothingness. 

"He just wanted to mess with you again." She reminded him. 

"I know." There was silence after his short statement. Zell gulped uncomfortably in a corner and Seifer turned away from the scene and towards an odd satellite like dish. Suddenly, their ears picked up on foot steps and voices talking. 

"Quick! Hide!" Squall commanded with the quietest voice he could muster. They ran to a nearby wall that was out of sight from the soldiers as they ran towards the satellite dish that had fascinated Seifer before. When they passed Seifer walked out from their hiding spot and rubbed his fingers to his chin. 

"We're going to the mountain top." He declared as he already was walking towards the path. 

"No! We're suppose to stay here!" Rinoa reminded him sternly. 

"You're suppose to follow the captain." He reminded her. 

"As much as I don't want to admit it... He's right." Zell said. "If we don't we might not become SeeDs." He warned, standing to follow Seifer. Squall looked to Rinoa, waiting for a response. She sighed reluctantly and stood with Squall and they walked ahead. 

"This path is so long..." Rinoa whined as they continued up to the top. The view was gorgeous but they didn't have time to get a good look at it as they had to make quick time because the test was to end in another 4 hours. The path was cobble stone, but poorly placed as they were sticking up as if a light tornado had come through. 

"HELP!" Someone screamed from ahead of them. "OH PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!!" They screamed again. They all ran to where the shouting was coming from, it was a side area from the path. There was an extremely large snake hovering over a poor defenseless man. Rinoa pulled out her pin wheel and shot at the snake. The snake ducked just in time, causing the pin wheel to miss and hit the rock behind it and return to her. The snake bent down and bit down on his leg and tossed him around like a rag doll. The snake smashed the mans body into a nearby rock several times, dropped it to the floor and swallowed him whole. 

"Holy fucking shit..." Seifer exclaimed as he began to back away from the scene along with everyone else. The snake suddenly eyed them and hunger filled its eyes. They all screamed in terror as the snake charged. The all ran back the way they came, down the hill. The snake was surprisingly fast, despite its freakishly large body. 

"I'M GONNA DIE!!" Zell cried in agony. 

"Shut up and turn in there!" Squall commanded bravely, seeing the snake literally nipping at their heels. He pointed to a small cave up ahead. They all dove in, hoping to psyche the snake out because of their sudden disappearance. It worked as they saw the snake slither by from inside the cave. They all panted, mainly from being so scared as they sat in the pitch black of the cave. Suddenly a figure appeared in the cave entrance. Her hair was curly. 

"Selphie!" Rinoa cried, happiness radiating from her voice. "You'll never guess what happened!" She said, running to her. 

"The giant snake?" She asked. 

"Yeah..." Rinoa said, slightly suspicious of how she knew. "How did you know?" She asked. 

"I saw you guys running from it from the top of the mountain. It was pretty entertaining." She said with a little wink. Rinoa glared at her but Selphie just shoved the letter in her face. She stared at her quizzically and she was about to ask what it was until Seifer's voice rang up. 

"This doesn't seem like a cave... the walls are steel." He pointed out, feeling the wall. It was pitch black so they couldn't see anything. Squall went to the wall and touched an odd protrusion. Suddenly, the entire 'cave' lit up, revealing it to be a gigantic elevator platform and began to rise. 

"What did you Squall!?" Rinoa cried, concern ridden in her voice. 

"I just pressed something!" He told her, not knowing what to do except press the button some more. The elevator rose to the top, which happened to be where they wanted to go all along, the satellite dish. 

"How convenient!" Seifer said with a smug smirk. Two men were fixing some random wires on the side of a large machine. 

"Got it!" One of the men cried. Suddenly, the structure began to shake. 

"Oh crap... what now?" Zell asked as he fell to the ground from the shaking. From behind them, a gigantic needle shot through the dish, completing the satellite. A light blue beam shot from the tip of it and to the heavens. "What the... What did that do?" Zell questioned as he stood and turned to the two men. 

"Intruders?" A man in blue asked. 

"Yes, indeed I believe so." The red one said. 

"Major Tweedle-Dee, what shall we do?" The blue one asked. 

"Eliminate them Tweedle-Dum." Tweedle Dee answered. They brought their guns and aimed them at Rinoa and Seifer. Everyone dropped their weapons and rose their hands to show they had nothing and could do nothing. 

"We're unarmed!" Squall protested. "We mean no harm!" He lied cleverly. 

"Oh really?" Tweedle Dum questioned. He shot at Squall's leg, but missed by a mile and instead shot out into open air and towards the setting sun. "Is that painful?" He asked. 

"... you missed me-I mean! OW! Oh God it hurts!" Squall cried in fake pain as he fell to the ground. 

"Excellent!" Tweedle Dum laughed. The Tweedle's began to laugh in sync for a bit until a strong wind blew them into the wall, knocking them out. 

"What was that?" Selphie asked, picking up her weapon along with everyone else. A loud roar followed her question, answering it. 

"Oh shit..." Seifer cursed under his breath. "Back to the elevator, we're leaving!" He commanded as they all got to the elevator, pressed some random switch and it proceeded down. While it was going down Rinoa remembered the letter. 

"Oh my..." She exclaimed quietly as she pulled out the letter and safety flashlight to read it with. "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!" She screamed as loud as she could. Everyone turned to her quizzically. 

"What?" Squall asked. 

"We have to be at the beach in..." She stopped to look at her watch. "5 MINUTES!!!" She screamed in panic. They all began to panic as well, as it was believed that they had a monster on their tail and they were going to be stuck on this damn place. The elevator and they all ran out, completely avoided the correct path and slid down the mountain side, towards the beach. Slowly, the sloping side became less and they could just run screaming like idiots down the hill side, which they did. 

"Not..." Tweedle Dee began. 

"... So..." Tweedle Dum continued. 

"... fast... you..." 

"... shits..." as Tweedle Dum said that, they both pulled out a controller with on large button on it and pressed it... 

The monster roared behind them and they picked up their pace. It was like some kind of freakish giant bee or something of the sort. The beach was being neared and they secretly sighed with relief, well until a gigantic mechanical spider dropped down in front of them. They wanted to stop, but couldn't as there was no traction to stop with and the hill side was far to steep. 

"Oh my..." Zell whispered. The mech raised its laser eye cannon above them and shot the bee like thing. It exploded and bee-whatever pieces flew everywhere. They continued to run towards the spider and just as they were about to crash into him, he flipped over them and behind. 

"THANK YOU!!" Selphie cried as she waved her hand behind her to the gigantic mech. The spider immediately began to chase them after that. 

"Great going Selphie." Zell scolded between breaths. 

Down on the sub Quistis saw them all running for their lives from the giant spider and she shook her head in distaste and she readied the utterly massive chain gun for firing. 

They finally reached the top roof that connected the hill to the beach and they all jumped down, Squall being the last one. They all ran for the blue sub, but Squall and Rinoa were slower and were far behind everyone. 

"Come on Squall!" Rinoa pushed. "Just a bit more!" She exclaimed as she pointed to the sub with all their 'friends' waving for them running faster. Suddenly the spider picked its speed up and charged behind them. It targeted them both and began to charge its eye cannon once more, in preparation for killing them. 

"Fuck off." Quistis whispered as she fired the chain gun, riddling the mammoth spider with bullet upon bullet upon bullet. The spider fell to the ground, holes still being drilled through it by the chain gun. Squall and Rinoa jumped for the already leaving sub. Rinoa made it completely on but Squall's lower half was stuck in the water and she helped him out of it. The doors sealed and the sub flew off just as the spider exploded into a thousand shards. 

The two stared at each other and embraced and took their seats. Everyone was silent... until Selphie started laughing, which caused Rinoa and Zell to explode with laughter as well. 

****

A/n: I bet this chapter felt rushed... 'cause I think it was rushed a bit. Whatever... I hope you all liked it!

IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!!! The SeeD graduates... who are they? Who passed the Field Test? But most importantly... who gets to go to the fabulous SeeD Graduation Ball!? 


	5. Shooting Star: In This Vast Universe, Yo...

_~ Chapter FIVE: Shooting Star: In This Vast Universe, You are Unique ~_

_*****************************_

"Alright Rinoa..." Rinoa spoke softly as she meditated in the corner of the hallway, just before the Graduate announcements. "You must remember... if you don't make SeeD, it's not your fault, it's Seifer's. That little shit face fucked everything up... little rat bastard!" Rinoa screamed as she stood, her eyes bulging with rage. "I'll rip his head off!" Rinoa screamed once more, right into Selphie's face. Selphie was taken aback, scared. 

"We could have done a much better job if Seifer wasn't our Squad leader." Zell complained. Seifer stepped directly behind Zell just as he said that. Seifer reached around and grabbed Zell's chin tenderly and pulled it forcefully towards his head. Seifer smiled and Zell just gave a nervous smile back. 

"What did you say?" Seifer asked tenderly. Zell just shrugged with an idiotic smile on his face. 

"I don't remember-AH!" He squealed in pain as a hard knee jab came to the back of his knee caps. "Rinoa said something worse!" Zell yelled, trying to divert the pain. 

"But she's my Ex... and a very sexy Ex at that." He commented, giving a wink to Rinoa who showed him her middle finger in reply. Squall scoffed at the words from Seifer's mouth. Seifer obviously heard that tiny scoff as he pushed Zell to the side and walked for Squall. 

"You've been nothing but trouble." Squall told him with a stoic face as he crossed his arms across his chest. "You always seem to make matters worse." He continued. Seifer smiled at him like some kind of school girl. 

"Oh but... I know Rinoa likes it and that's why I do these kinds of things!" Seifer insisted as he shot a glance over to Rinoa who had a sour look on her face. 

"Then why does Rinoa hate you?" Squall asked him, looking to Rinoa to finish things off. She was glad to. 

"Yes Rinoa, why DO you hate me so?" Seifer asked, generally concerned as he walked towards her. 

"'Cause you're a dip shit." She answered, making it simple. "... and you're like some kind of freak masochist, you look like a child molester, you have the attitude of a stuck up prince and to top it all off... you smell like you haven't taken a shower in a good year or so." Rinoa listed proudly and in one very long breath. 

"Those words cut deep princess." Seifer said in a very stoic manner as he turned away from the scene and towards the entrance to the elevator however he couldn't go very far as a Garden Official came towards all the people waiting in the halls. 

"Here are the Graduates of the Field Exam. Once I have read the select student's names, will they please step forward." He instructed before hand. He pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve and began to list off the names. 

"Rinoa Heartilly." He called. Rinoa screamed with delight and skipped towards the man, a large, pretty smile on her face. 

"Selphie Tilmitt." He said. Selphie screamed just like Rinoa and ran towards Rinoa with bouncing strides. They smiled at each other and gave each other high-fives. 

"Squall Leonhart." The Garden Official called. Squall stepped forward, his face showing no emotion but his eyes could easily show how proud he was. Squall stood next to Rinoa and she pinched his butt lightly which caused Squall to blush furiously. 

"Zell Dincht." The man called. Zell put his hands in his back pockets and did an odd chicken strut up to where the group was. 

"... and some guy... I can't pronounce his name. Umm... Hujikaryet?" The man questioned. 

"It's John." A person said stepping forward. 

"Right, right! Of course!" The man lied. "Those are all the graduates!" He called, everyone in the hall sighed with disbelief and Seifer stabbed the wall with his gunblade and everyone ran away. 

They were all lined up in a row as Cid came into the room and looked them all over, beaming with a smile. 

"I'm sorry, but I must make this brief as I have an appointment in..." He looked to his watch. "... 3 minutes." He finished as he looked back up to them. "I'm very proud of all of you and I hope this is what you have dreamed to be for a long time." He paced slowly before them as he continued. "And good luck on your missions and travels." Cid finished as he suddenly stood in place before them. They all saluted. "You are now officially all SeeDs." He said saluting them back. "Now I must go." He said, and left. 

"Wow... this is so cool." Rinoa squealed as she walked for the elevator with everyone else. 

"I know... what should we do now that we're SeeDs?" Selphie asked, stepping next to Rinoa. 

"Well... the SeeD ball is tonight... so... We gotta go out and buy fancy outfits!" Rinoa concluded. 

"You're right! And the SeeD ball starts in less than 5 hours!" Selphie squealed, worried. 

"Quick! We make haste!" Rinoa proclaimed. "The elevator is far to slow! To the stairs!" She said as the two ran for the stair case and bolted down as fast as they could. 

"So Squall... what should we-" Zell was about to finish his sentence until he found that Squall was nowhere in sight. He looked around and found him in the elevator, alone. "Hey wait!" He called, but the clear blue doors shut and it shot down as Squall waved bye. 

"Geez..." Zell complained with sore face. "Hmmm... I'll go visit The Library Girl!" He proclaimed as he boarded another elevator. 

*

Squall lied down on his bed with a tiny sigh and placed his hands behind his head. He kicked off his shoes with a push from the opposite foot and wiggled his toes about in his sock. 

'... I wonder if Seifer really wanted to become a SeeD?' He questioned to himself in thought. He rolled over, facing the wall and curled up a bit. 'He's tried how many times now? 2, 3? So... he must want to become a SeeD. And I'm sure he could if he would just shut the fuck up... dumbass.' Squall concluded. He rolled back onto his back and eyed his SeeD uniform that had been given to him just recently. 'I hate that color...' He thought distastefully. 'I don't want to wear it at all... but if Rinoa wants me to. I wonder what she is going to wear?' He wondered as he closed his eyes to try and imagine. He couldn't make anything out, all he had ever seen was her in her school uniform or in the blue get up. 'I'm sure it will be nice...' He concluded. 

A knock rang from his door. He rolled his eyes but stood and answered it none the less. It was Quistis in her teaching uniform for some bizarre reason, considering they had no classes.

"What?" He asked as he looked her over, a bit perplexed about the change of style. 

"Can I talk with you for a bit?" She asked. He turned back around into his room and nodded, letting her in. She walked past him and looked about his bleak and boring room. She took a seat on the end of his bed. 

"What is it?" He asked, trying not to sound like he cared that much.

"Well..." She began, trailing off a bit. She looked about the room discretely, afraid of confronting the topic at hand. 

"Well?" He asked, becoming the slightest bit agitated in her silence. 

"Who are you going with to the SeeD Graduation Ball tonight?" She asked, pulling the question right out of her ass. She knew it was stupid question to, considering she already knew, well, everyone knew. 

"No one." He answered. Quistis turned to him in shock.

"What about Rinoa?" She asked in a very strong tone, almost trying to make him remember. 

"She didn't mention anything so I assumed she already got a date." Squall told her. 

"You're kidding, right?" She questioned with a disgusted laugh. Squall just scowled at her. "Just because she didn't mention anything doesn't mean that she's going with someone else!" She scolded. "I'm sure she expects you to be her date." She finished with a little smile, knowing that she had helped in some way. 

"I'll let her decide that, okay?" Squall told her as he looked away from her and out towards the window. There was silence between them for a minute or so. 

"I remember my Graduation Ball." Quistis began, looking to her skirt as she tugged at the end of it. "I had refused every single one of the dates that guys offered me. I wanted to go alone." She said sadly. Squall was still turned away towards the window, but he was listening. "At the Ball I did nothing but sip wine and be a wallflower as I watched all the happy people dance, but then..." She paused a bit and Squall looked to her out of the corner of his eye, wanting her to continue. "... Seifer asked me to dance." She finished, Squall was a bit shocked but didn't show it. "I knew he shouldn't have been there, he wasn't even a SeeD but I didn't care. I danced with him, he was the only one I danced with. He wasn't great at dancing but neither was I." Quistis said, a tiny smile shining through. There was silence between them for a bit. "Aren't you going to say anything?" She asked, leaning closer to him on the bed. 

"Why? Am I suppose to say something?" He asked, still turned away from her. The scenario was becoming uncomfortable. 

"Well... I don't know. I guess not." She told him, drawing herself away from him a bit. 

"Then why did you tell that to me?" He asked turning to the floor. She could tell he was becoming agitated. "If you just wanted to be heard, then go to talk to a wall." He said as he stood up and walked for the door, about to open it for her. She didn't move from her spot.

"Sometimes its nice to have people listen to your thoughts." She told him with an angry face. He didn't respond. "I know you want me to go... and I will... but haven't you ever talked to Rinoa before?" She asked as she stepped next to him, making eye contact with him. 

"That's none of your business." He told her coldly as he tossed his eyes away from hers and to the hallway. She exited his dorm without another word and turned back around towards him. 

"See you tonight." She said as Squall closed the door. He walked to his bed and fell down upon it. He sighed heavily. He lied there for a bit as thoughts of the previous conversation raced through his head. A knock sounded from the door and Squall sat up, annoyed. 

"What is it now, Quistis!?" He called, angrily as he got to answer the door. He opened and was about to complain to her until he found who it as. Rinoa stood there, her eyebrows slanted wondering what the hell he was talking about. She tapped her foot periodically waiting for him to say something. "Sorry Rin." He apologized sheepishly. 

"It's alright. But... why was Quistis with you?" She asked as she brushed past Squall and entered his room. He closed the door and leaned against it. 

"How did you know?" He asked.

"Well, two things. One: When I knocked you exclaimed 'What is it now, Quistis!?'." Rinoa said, mocking his voice perfectly. "Two: I saw Quistis walk out of your room." She finished as she took a seat on his bed. He pushed off from the door, walked to her and stood before her. 

"She was being weird." Squall said from out of the blue. While it seemed random, he knew that was her next question's answer. Rinoa smiled, fell off the bed and got onto her knees and latched onto his legs. "What are you doing?" He asked in surprise as he stepped back a bit, dragging her with him. 

"I felt like hugging you." She confessed as she snuggled her cheek into his pants. Squall rolled his eyes and bent down to her. 

"Why did you come here?" He asked, stroking her hair softly but surely. In response she snuggled ever closer. 

"I wanted to tell you to get ready for the Graduation Ball..." She told him as she continued to press herself to him. 

"Leave and I'll get ready." He told her. She shook her head. "Then I won't get ready." He reminded her. She shook her head again. 

"I wanna stay!" She complained like a little child. 

"I'm not a stripper." He said as he stood. He brought his hands under Rinoa's arms and lifted her up. As soon as her feet touched the ground she pushed her hands into his jacket, near his shoulders and pushed his jacket off. "I already told you..." He began but cut himself off as he saw Rinoa taking of his belts. She flicked the last one off and tossed it on the ground and smiled up at him. 

"If you won't do it, then I will." Rinoa said to him as she pushed her hands up and inside of his shirt, touching his stomach. He immediately jumped back from the abrupt contact. He looked at her sternly and she was beginning to feel bad. "Sorry... I'll leave..." She said sadly as she walked to leave but Squall jumped in front of her and unbuttoned her blue duster, causing it to fall to the ground. "That's no fare!" She complained. "I have nothing to change into!" She exclaimed. "Lemme go get my dress..." She said with a wink and left. Squall looked down at her blue duster, sat down and took it in his hands. 

'How old is this thing, geez?' He questioned feeling it gently. 

A few minutes later Rinoa bounded into the room huffing and puffing from all the running she had done. She was carrying a cream white dress in her right hand, and held the door open with her left. She entered, trying to calm her breathing. She found Squall digging through his closet. 

"Found it." He whispered, not realizing that she was even there. He pulled out from the closet with a ring in his hand. He eyed Rinoa and he quickly shoved the ring into his back pocket, hoping she didn't notice it. She decided to ignore it and stepped closer to him, her breathing now normal. 

"I got my dress." She told him, holding it up. He walked to her almost as if he didn't even care what she had to say. Hr grabbed her around the waist and brought her face close to his. "W-What... what is it?" She asked, a bit shocked at the sudden closeness he had caused. He remained silent and pushed his hand up the back of her top. "Wait." She whispered. She pulled away from him and set the dress neatly down on his bed, afraid it would get messed up. "Ready." She said as she got back to her original position. He pushed her top up and over her head and kissed her neck gingerly. She shivered with delight from the contact and pushed her hands up his stomach, causing the shirt to travel with her hands. In no time at all, the shirt was over his head. Once his head was visible, she kissed him as he struggled to get the shirt off of his arms. She broke the kiss and laughed as he struggled more. She pushed it off from behind his back and they continued their kiss. 

"Where is this going?" Squall asked between a break from their kiss. "Are we changing or having sex?" He asked as he kissed her shoulder, leading his way up to her neck with little kisses. 

"Lets change... there's always after graduation." She reminded him. "... but... you feel so good." She said, arguing with herself. He broke away from her and grabbed his SeeD clothes, much to her distaste. Her arms still lingering in the air from where she was holding him. 

"You're right. There's always after." He reminded her as he placed it on the bed and bent down to pick up his shirt. 

"Dammit." Rinoa cursed quietly for saying that answer. 

"I have something to give you after the Graduation Ball anyways..." He told her as he looked to her out of the corner of his eye. She nodded and took of her skirt, ready to put on her dress. 

Rinoa walked to the Graduation alone as she had left Squall to apply her makeup and jewelry, etc. She walked to the elevator, where alot of other people from different Squads were. They all got on one elevator and rode to the fifth floor. That particular floor of Garden was rarely used as it was so nice and fancy, they were afraid of using it to much. 

She made her way to another elevator with no one aboard it. She entered it and pressed the button which read '5'. The elevator sped up, the floors passing by like strange blurs. She let her hands slowly stroke her cream outfit. Her hands slowly smoothed out the material from her stomach to the end of her short skirt that ended mid thigh. The elevator dinged lightly, signaling she was there. The clear blue elevator doors opened revealing the entrance to the beautiful ballroom. She stepped out of the elevator and left towards the ground floor. 

She stepped into the ballroom and down the marble steps. The walls were of a pretty pink marble and ivy was hung from the sides of the ceiling ever so perfectly. The ceiling itself was of complete glass. The stars that night seem to show themselves brighter than ever. She smiled gently as the atmosphere was perfect. She looked about the large room to find people dancing in the middle to a pretty ballroom song. She looked about the room a bit more and found Squall being his usual self. He was leaning against a wall in the corner, sipping a glass of champagne. She smiled and continued down the stairs and to him. She stood before him, her hands on her hips as he stared at her. 

"You really shouldn't drink alcohol." Rinoa advised as she took the glass from his loose hand. She took a sip and gave it back to him.

"Same to you." He said as he drank the rest of it off. 

"Alcohol makes me dance better." She told him with a wink. 

"No matter how much, or how little, alcohol I drink I dance like a rabid monkey being chewed on by piranhas." He told her as he placed the empty glass on a side counter. The inside of the glass was still foamy and a little bit of champagne lingered at the bottom, waiting to be drunk. 

"I doubt that. For SeeD you're required to take dancing lessons." She reminded him. "And I'm sure you excelled at it, as embarrassing as that maybe." She said as she leaned against the counter next to him. He remained silent. She looked to him out the corner of her eye. "So... you're not going to dance then?" She asked, pushing off from the counter. He shook his head. "Okay, I'll find someone else to dance with." She told him, trying to make him jealous. She couldn't tell if it worked or not as he remained stoic. 

Quistis walked towards the elevator in silence. The halls were empty as it was after curfew for most of Garden, with the exception of the SeeDs. She was in her teaching uniform as all teachers were assigned to attend with their uniforms even though she wanted to dress up. 

"And where is Ms. Trepe going?" A cool voice asked to the right of her. She looked and found Seifer leaning against the railing in the shadows. 

"What is it Seifer?" She asked as she placed her hands to her hips. 

"I just wanted to know why you didn't pass me." He told her as he approached slowly. 

"I have a place to go to... so if you want to still talk, then walk with me." She told him, hoping that would give him the hint to go away but it didn't as he walked with her. 

"Tell me, I want to know." He said as he looked to her. 

"It wasn't all my fault." She reminded him. "I don't personally grade every single one of you. I don't even know what you've done half the time." She said. "But I give you a grade on your performance during the prerequisite, before the field exam and after." She told him. 

"And what did you say about me then?" He asked. 

"During the prerequisite I told them you were being a little shit kicker, basically, but battle-wise you excelled and that was same thing for all of them pretty much." She said with a fake smile. He scowled. "I mean... you didn't actually think you were going to get to be a SeeD, did you?" She asked. Seifer looked down, disappointed in himself. "Everyone-and I mean EVERYONE-knows you have a bad wrap." She reminded him as she stopped and turned to him. "If you could just get your act together, you'd be in business." She told him with a smile as she patted him on the shoulder. "Next year is always another chance if you're serious about becoming a SeeD." Quistis encouraged. 

"I am..." He told her, looking her in the eyes. 

"Oh Squall!" Selphie called as she approached him. He was still in the same spot as last time, this time with another champagne glass. She bounded in front of him and smiled at him, trying to start things off with a good impression. "Would you like to join the Garden Festival?" She asked as her head bounced lightly to and fro. 

"Ummm... sure." He said in a wavering manner, not knowing what to say. 

"Awesome." Selphie whispered as she stomped her foot with excitement. "See yah 'round then!" She said with a little wave as she skipped off. He sighed and looked up to the night sky. The stars were magnificent and dotted the holy black sky perfectly. They were ornaments for the gloomy dark space. As his eyes wandered the dark space he came across a shooting star. It was the first shooting star he had seen in awhile. He heard a giggle from just next to him. He turned and found that Rinoa was looking at him, a smile on her face. She was bordering the edge of the dance floor as she pointed to the same area that the shooting star was at. He nodded questionably, not knowing what else to do. She smiled and walked up to him. She grabbed his hands and looked into his eyes. 

"Pretty wasn't it?" She asked. Feeling all the different eyes of the SeeD's on his, he pulled away from her touch. The SeeD's turned away and continued with their dance. He remained silent. "Well, if you don't want to talk about the shooting star then at least dance with me." She said. 

"I already told you I can't dance." Squall reminded her as he resisted her tugs. 

"Like I care." She said as she pulled ever harder towards the dance floor. "And besides, these people don't know you. Who cares if they see you dance? All that matters is that you got to try something new and fun." He gave her a questionable look at the statement she had just given him. "Trust me." She said. 

"No." He said, making it simply. She smiled even brighter, snatched his champagne glass and tossed it on the counter. The contents spilled out, but she didn't care. Squall looked a tad shocked at her sudden action. 

"They're called paper towels." She reminded him with a smile. They remained silent for a bit and Squall felt a bit comfortable in the fact that Rinoa had given up on him dancing. But as soon as he was comfortable, she grabbed his wrists and pulled him to the dance floor with all her might. Once they were out in the middle, he didn't bother resisting, to caught up in the embarrassment as Zell's video camera rolled on, capturing their every movement. Squall gave him a scowl but he just gave a thumbs up back. Rinoa placed his hand onto her hip and he guided his other hand to her shoulder. She positioned herself correctly and they attempted to dance. 

Their feet were clumsy and uncertain as they attempted to dance in unison. They bumped into a few people very slightly as Rinoa tried to guide him correctly around the dance floor. That didn't quite work out as Squall stepped on her foot and stumbled into her. She pushed back, causing him to stand properly. 

"Forget this." He said shaking his head as he left hastily. 

"Oh no, no, no!" Rinoa insisted as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to her. 

"For god sakes Rinoa! I can't dance worth shit." Squall finally concluded for her. 

"I don't believe that for a minute..." Rinoa mumbled as she got her hands in the correct positions. Squall did the same for her, just to amuse her. They began to dance, or tried to. Squall stepped on her foot again and they ran into another dancing couple. 

"Watch where you're going you dumb klutzes!" The man exclaimed. 

"Go learn yoga and blow yourself!" Rinoa sneered angrily. She pushed Squall and her back into their correct position and Squall flashed her a quick and very tiny smile. A new song started just as they reached their new positions. Squall sighed and decided upon what to do. The song began and they danced. Their hands, arms and legs were in perfect synch. Squall was a natural pro and Rinoa just fell into his graceful moves. She was loving every minute of Squall's true self. The self he hid away. The lie that he once put up had vanished and in its place, a new Squall, a better dancing Squall. 

The song was over to fast and ended with them only centimeters away from each other. They looked into each others eyes and she smiled her proudest smile. He let his hand fall to her bare arm and rubbed it gently and tenderly. Fire works boomed over head and they broke their eye contact to look up at it. Flashes of red, blue, green and every color exploded up in the heavens. Out of the blue, Squall broke away from her and dug into his back pocket and emerged with a ring on a necklace. It was Squall's favorite ring in fact, his griever ring. He placed the necklace around her neck and kissed her cheek softly. 

"I'll explain later." He told her with a whisper. She nodded and let her fingers gingerly caress the ring lying down just above her cleavage. She bent up to whisper in his ear. 

"Back to your room?" She questioned. He nodded and they walked off the dance floor. 

************* 

A/n: I don't want to say this... but I'll say it none the less. Download the song 'Shooting Star' by Kotoko. If you have an appreciation for J-POP, you'll like it. It's from the show 'Onegai Teacher'. Anyways! I hope you all liked this chapter. I just love writing this story and I'm so glad all of you are enjoying it as well. It means alot to me, this being my first fic and all. 


	6. The Epitaph of Love: Memory Shift

_~ Chapter SIX: The Epitaph of Love: Memory Shift ~_

A/n: I'm writing this on my brand new computer... oh it feels so nice. But, the sad thing is... I LOST ALL MY MUSIC! 200 files with of music I might add. Plus the rest of the chapters but what's worse is that I lost my new story 'Here is Garden!'. Oh well. I'll write something else. grrr... I'm so pissed....

A/n 2: Okay... I had to delete the entire chapter that I had just written. I realized that it made no sense and that if I tried to make it work I'd only be hurting myself. Plus I finally admitted to myself that the chapter was just my profound need to destroy Zone and Watts in the most gruesome of manners (Zone is split in two and his organs are ripped from him and his eyes are jabbed out, trust me... it 'worked' in the original. With Watts, his arm is sawed off and a slim pole skewers him in the head and birds begin to pick and rip at his lifeless corpse.). HOWEVER!! Now that I cured myself of brutally killing Zone and Watts, I can write the 'real' chapter. 

**IMPORTANT!!! From now on this is a SQUINOA!! WARNING!! SQUINOA ALERT!! There is no more voting!! So stop. AND NO CHARACTER HATING IN THE REVIEW PAGE, PLEASE!!**

******************

Squall awoke with a flutter of his eyelids. His eyes adjusted and centered on the pale roof above him. It was his room he had slept in after the night of the graduation. He placed his arms behind his head and relaxed himself gently with a sigh of content. He rolled his head over to the electronic clock as it just rearranged itself into the time of '10:00'. He was surprised no one had disturbed him, considering the time was late to Garden standards. 

'No motion today...' He thought sleepily as he rolled over towards the wall. But something was different about his wall... it didn't feel this smooth or nice to the touch. He opened his eyes ever so slightly and found he was caressing the sleeping Rinoa's collar bone. "Fucking shit!" He exclaimed in complete surprise as he pushed backward from her but ended up falling from the bed and onto the floor with a loud thud, dragging one of the sheets over his naked body. He forgot that his bed was a single and with another person in his bed, there was practically no room. Rinoa shot up from sleeping position from the tremendous shake. 

"Earthquake!?" She questioned, nervous as her head darted around the room, looking for Squall. "Squall?" She questioned to the nothingness after realizing that there was no earthquake. 

"Yeah." He said with a little groan of discomfort from the floor. Rinoa crept to the edge of the bed, a sheet neatly tucked around her, hiding any privates Squall might want to peek at. 

"How did you get down there?" She asked with a smile as she bent her head closer to him. 

"An earthquake." He mused as he wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her down on top of him. As she gracefully slid from the bed, he pushed his hands down into her sheet that was around her back and savored the feeling of pure heaven. As his hands crept all the more slowly down her, it began to tickle. She tried to hold it in for the sake of the moment and keep her slow movement but she couldn't hold it in. She flew down at him, his hands dislodging from her immediately and placing them in front of him as if to catch her. She collapsed into his chest as her laughs subsided in replace of silence, save for the occasional giggle. Squall sighed with disbelief that the slightest romantic gesture always turned into something all the more awkward. 

They lay there in that position for a minute Rinoa finally jumped up, a look of complete surprise on her face. 

"I didn't know you were so forward." Rinoa said with a smile on her face. "I thought you liked to take things step by step." She said with a disbelieving smile. 

"But I was trying to do that..." Squall whispered.

"You were trying to take things step by step by clutching my breast... you little pervert!" She said all the more playfully as she stood up. Squall looked down to his hands and found that his right hand was in the form of her breast. She had accidentally fallen into that awkward position while he was... ummm... 'accidentally' cupping her breast. She took a seat on his bed as she watched him stand up, a totally bewildered look on his face. 

"That move was an accident, huh?" Rinoa asked, a blush suddenly rushing to her face. 

"Yeah." He answered plainly as he took a seat next to her. "Gave me to much credit." He continued. 

"At the risk of sounding cheesy... I never give you enough credit." Rinoa said with a crafty smile. Squall looked back at her his mood unchanging and his expression not faltering. She stared back the same way, her mood not changing even the slightest. The silence was only the slightest bit uncomfortable. He found comfort in her eyes and she to him. After a long while of absolute nothingness, Squall finally stood and headed for his bathroom. 

"I'm gonna take a shower." He stated, not looking to her directly. 

"Okay." Rinoa answered in a vague tone, her eyes dropping to her feet in a flash. 

"Am I gonna see you for breakfast?" He asked as he pushed his head forward into his bathroom, almost as if he was hiding his face. 

Rinoa smiled, she knew why he had hid. This was the first real date he had asked her on, all the other 'dates' they shared were either accidental or set up by others... meaning they didn't go out very often. "Sure!" She answered with great enthusiasm. Squall's face was still hidden as he muttered: "Yes..." The mutter was inaudible for Rinoa to hear but she knew he had said it. 

* 

After the breakfast Rinoa entered her dorm room, alone. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She sighed heavily and finally pushed off from the door, wanting to lie down on her mini sofa and watch her brand new TV which her father had gotten. When she stepped a bit further into the room she saw Selphie and Zell watching TV on her couch eating her potato chips. 

"What are you doing here?" Rinoa asked agitated. 

"... eating." Selphie answered with a curious face, wondering if it wasn't obvious enough. 

"And watching TV. Receptions great by the way." Zell said giving Rinoa a little thumbs up sign. She glowered but tried to remain cool. 

"How did you get in here?" Rinoa asked crossing her arms and cocking her hip lightly as she looked at them impatiently. 

"The door was unlocked." Selphie answered with a petite smile. 

"Right... because that gives you all the reason in the world." Rinoa stated sarcastically as her impatient expression turned to a sour one. 

"Well..." Selphie began, trying to explain stupidly. "Sassiphras." She answered stupidly as her hand dove into the chip bag and shoved some more chips in her mouth. 

"Definitely." Zell backed, being just as random. 

"Shut up and get out." Rinoa commanded as her arm extended towards the door. Her index finger rose and stiffened with strain as it aimed for the door. They got the idea. Zell stood and walked out as quickly as possible. Selphie was slow to follow. As she reached the door, Zell was standing there, waiting for her. She grabbed the door in her hands and slammed it shut in his face. She spun on her heel and looked Rinoa in the eye. 

"Where did you two go last night?" Selphie asked hastily, a slightly sullen look on her face. 

"What?" Rinoa asked. She knew what it was regarding but decided to draw it out. 

"You know!" Selphie blurted out, reading Rinoa's mind. 

"I have no idea!" Rinoa exclaimed with a smile as she blushed. 

"You guys got IT ON!!" Selphie said with a smile on her face as she made erotic pelvic movements. 

"Oh... fuck a horse..." Rinoa demanded as she turned away with a blush on her face. 

"I don't think I'm doing the screwing here.... you are!" Selphie pointed out with a cute little smile as she poked her in the arm. 

"So what if I did?" Rinoa asked, challenging Selphie. 

Selphie was quiet for a bit until she finally blurted out: "Can I be it's aunt!?" 

"What?" Rinoa asked, this time totally confused. 

"The child." Selphie reminded, as if it was all to obvious. 

"Oh my God, Selphie!" Rinoa complained as she backed away from her. "You're one sick pup." She said with clenched teeth. 

"Answer the question." Selphie said with an annoyed face as she put her hands on her hips. 

"We used protection." Rinoa answered plainly, turning to Selphie triumphantly. Selphie grumbled and stormed out. Rinoa sighed with relief as the door slammed shut. "Testy..." She whispered under her breath as she hurled herself down on her new couch. She lied facing up, her eyes staring at the ceiling, unwavering from their target. Her right hand lazily dropped from the couch, her knuckles gently brushing the carpet. Her eyes filled with tears and her lips began to quiver. 

"Oh Squall..." She said with a trembling voice as she pulled her body into a ball and cried..... 

"Master." Seifer began as he knelt to the black, ominous figure in the large dark chair before him. The room the two were in was pitch black with the exception of a tiny spotlight focusing on Seifer and another solitary light on a red double door way far from them and behind Seifer. 

Seifer's head picked itself up and looked to the figure. "We have conformation on Lady Continent's next location." Seifer said. 

"Stand." The deep voice commanded, pleased. "Where might this location be?" The voice asked. 

"Balamb." He answered, now standing. 

"Good. You may leave." The voice said. 

"Master, may I ask you of a favor?" Seifer begged. 

"What is it?" The voice asked, weary. 

"May I... drop by and give them visit?" He asked. 

The voice hesitated. "It could be a risky venture, but I've always had a taste for drama." The voice said with a laugh. Seifer smirked. 

"Thank you, Master." Seifer thanked with a low bow. He turned on his heel and walked off, smirking. His plan had worked. The voice began to laugh again. 

"Don't take me for a fool, Mr. Seifer." The voice demanded in a cheery voice. 

"I take you for no fool, Mas-" Seifer couldn't finished his sentence as something sharp, slim and long shot through his shoulder. Seifer felt it yank to a stop as he screamed with pain. 

"I can't believe you thought I would trust you." The voice laughed. "I see how you treat people. I see how you make fools of people you can, and for the people you can't... you kill them. Or, should I say, used to." The voice exclaimed, laughing even harder. Seifer grimaced at the comments, but mostly his own pain. His shoulder suddenly jerked forward as he felt the long piece of metal dislodge from him. Blood poured from the completely open wound and he quickly began to feel faint. "Pathetic..." The voice whispered as Seifer's wound closed. Seifer's breath was ragged as he still held on to the area where the wound once was. 

"Why?" Seifer whispered through clenched teeth, the pain still charging through him. The voice didn't hear his question. 

"Never disobey me... for I hold the key to that closed wound. One wrong move towards me and that will open and your blood will spill everywhere. Or I'll just throw another lance through your face, I like that option." The voice said venomously. The light on Seifer vanished and he was gone. "Hmmmm..." The voice sighed... 

* 

Rinoa rode on the train bound for Timber with sullen expression. Her eyes were diverted out the window as her finger tips tapped rhythmically against her skirt. Her eyes were rimmed with red. It was all to obvious she had been crying. Squall was absent mindedly looking through the mission brief papers, not caring much. 

Selphie darted her eyes over to the two in their seats, across the aisle from her and Zell. 

"Isn't it obvious to Squall that something is wrong with Rinny?" She asked in a whisper as she leaned into Zell. 

"Probably not. But even if he did, I doubt he would know what to do." Zell said as he continued to play his Gameboy.

"That's pretty insightful for someone who's playing a video game." Selphie pointed out, making a compliment. 

"I know. But, back to the subject... While I've known Rinoa for a very short time, she seems like a very cheerful person. It would take a lot to bring her down to where she is now. So, my guess is that Rinoa's been so upset about something with Squall. She cares enough to cry for him, and enough not to tell him." Zell pointed out as game screen flashed 'Game Over' in big, bold, red letters. "Dammit." He cursed quietly. 

"If that's true, it seems very odd considering they were so happy awhile ago. Things can't turn sour that quickly." Selphie argued as she watch Rinoa. 

"It could have been something last night, maybe this morning." Zell suggested as he put the game back into his pocket. Selphie didn't look impressed by his statement. "It's like if you spill your best perfume. You're gonna get sad, or possibly pissed. You don't have to spill two bottles of your favorite perfume to make you sad or mad." Zell explained. Selphie nodded in understanding. 

"Wonder what happened then?" She wondered. 

"Ask her, but right now might not be the best time." Zell advised. She nodded. 

_"Passengers heading for the Timber Station, will be stopping in just a few minutes. Please collect your luggage and prepare to disembark."_

As the announcement turned off. Squall handed the briefing papers to Rinoa and stood.

"Where are you going?" She asked, confused as she fumbled with the documents. 

"For a walk." He answered lamely and went into the next car behind them. 

"A walk?" Rinoa questioned, looking utterly confused and bewildered. 

"Don't worry." Zell reassured her with a smile. Rinoa nodded and sighed. She sat still for a bit, holding the documents close to her chest. Her eyes suddenly filled with an empowerment she didn't know she had. She tossed the documents into the vacant seat next to her, papers spilling out into the aisle and onto the floor. She whipped her head to the world outside the window and thought and thought until the train finally stopped at their destination... 

* 

"Freeze." Selphie commanded, pointing the gun into the mans face. He raised his hands up as he dropped his gun. "This the guy, Squall?" Selphie asked, still looking into the eyes of her enemy. 

"Yeah." He said. "Good work." He complimented. He handcuffed the man to a chair as the two watched him, intent on not letting him move. 

"I hope Rinny and Zell are you doing okay." Selphie said. Squall just nodded. 

"I hope they get him." He said as he sheathed his gunblade. 

"That's not what I meant." She said with a frown... 

Rinoa jammed her palm up into the man's chin and he stumbled back a bit and wiped his mouth of the blood. 

"I don't want to hurt you anymore!" Rinoa told him as she pulled out her gun and aimed it at him. "Please, stop resisting. I don't want to hurt you more than I have to." She reiterated. He just smugly smiled and ran for her. She aimed off center and fired, hitting him in the shoulder. He stumbled back and cringed as blood sprayed from his wound. His hand covered it quickly as blood leaked through the cracks between his fingers. 

"Rin!" Zell said as he rounded a corner. "There you are!" He said with a gasp of delight. His smile disappeared as he saw the enemy target, bleeding from a bullet wound. "Wouldn't cooperate?" He asked looking to Rinoa. She shook her head. 

"Please." Rinoa pleaded as she held the gun up to the man's head. The man sighed and cringed from the pain. 

"Fine." He finally gave in. She smiled as Zell handcuffed him. 

* 

"Sir." Squall began to Cid over Squall's mobile. "We have captured the targets. Target, Dean Redgro, has suffered a bullet wound for not cooperating but that seems to be the only major wound." Squall finished. 

"Good work!" He congratulated. "The rest of the day is yours to putz about the town and report to Galbadia Garden when you're finished." He finished and hung up. Squall turned to the rest of his team as he pocketed the mobile. 

"We have the rest of the day free. But we have to get to Galbadia Garden sometime." He told them. They all cheered. 

"I'm going shopping! Wanna come Rinny?" Selphie asked as she bounced about excitedly. 

"Nah. I'm just gonna walk about. Be a tourist." She told her with a smile. 

"I'm going to the arcade. C'mon Squall!" Zell insisted as he grabbed his hand and dashed for the arcade he saw earlier. She mouthed a thank you to the departing Zell who only gave her wave and a smile. 

"Sure you don't want to come?" Selphie asked, just making sure. Rinoa nodded. "Okay then, see yah later!" She said with a smile and skipped off. Rinoa sighed and looked around her, wondering where to start from. 

"Where to go?" She asked herself. She wasn't really planning on sight-seeing and instead intended on thinking and walking mindlessly. She decided on a route that none of the group had taken. It was past the Timber Maniacs building. She walked for it and the second she entered the crammed street the song began to play. The one that she had heard before. She looked about curiously, rubbed her ears and concluded it was real. She walked calmly, trying to not freak herself out even more even though she really did want to scream and freak. 

The song was haunting and almost cryptic. Almost hypnotic as Rinoa found herself searching the sound down. 

After a few minutes of walking she found herself in a dead end alley way. A women was there, her back turned to her. She was in a blue top and a white skirt, her shawl tied around her neck almost as if a choker. The excess length of the shawl around her neck waved delicately in the wind along with her hair. The song suddenly stopped and the women turned to Rinoa. Her eyes were sunken but she had a placid smile none the less. 

"Who are you?" Rinoa asked delicately. 

"I know you hurt." The woman began in a soft and kind voice as she stepped closer to Rinoa. Rinoa didn't retreat from the advance. 

"Who are you?" She repeated. 

"I know the pain deep down inside of you. Come with me Rinoa." She said, her eyes filling with life. 

"How do you know my name?" Rinoa asked, still not retreating even as the woman hugged her gently. 

"Rinoa." She repeated. Almost instantly Rinoa hugged her gently. Rinoa didn't feel in control of herself as the world began to spin and spin, locked in embrace as the blue water of the pleasant ocean engulfed them as the whales, dolphins and fish swam past as they spun in each others grasp... 

*********** 

A/n: Note on the last part... THE MAKING OF T.A.T.U 2! Oh my gosh! Just tricking! Trippy isn't it?? Well... I thought it was neato... and yes, it does fit in with the plot. 


	7. WARNING! THIS CHAPTER HAS MATURE CONTENT

Chapter SEVEN: Fantasies Invisible To Me: Where Yearnings Are Born

**WARNING::: Prepare for the most superest freakiest ride of your life in this chapter! Yaoi, SeiferxRinoa, melting people, incest, Squall having a 'good' relationship with his dad (Squall knows who is dad is in this), Quistis returns mysteriously and begins to make advances on Squall, giant teddy bears, and to top it all off... he's fifteen again. Have Fun!**

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"Squall!" Selphie cried as she entered the arcade, gasping for air. Squall was playing Time Crisis 3 and was doing remarkably well for his first time. 

"What?" He asked, seeming preoccupied. 

"Rinoa's missing!" She exclaimed in one quick shot of breath. Squall's grip on the handle of his gun went limp and it dropped but the cord saved it from the floor and it smacked against the machine. 

"She's what?" He asked, grabbing Selphie's shoulders, desperate for more answers. 

"I can't find her!" She said, regaining her normal pace of breathing. 

"Are you sure? Have you looked everywhere?" He asked, his eyes stricken with worry.

"Maybe not everywhere but... ALOT of places." She confessed, worry filling her emotions. 

"She's got to be here. She couldn't have gone to Galbadia Garden alone, right?" He asked. He let go of Selphie steadily and raked a hand through his hair, nervous, worried and afraid. "Ahh... shit." He cursed and ran out of the arcade, leaving Selphie and Zell behind. 

"Where is he going?" Zell asked from behind her, holding an arm full of prizes he had just won. 

"To find Rinoa." Selphie answered, still watching the disappearing Squall.

"What? Is she lost or something?" He asked. 

"That's what you do when someone's lost... you find them." She told him as if it was all to simple... 

"Rinoa!" Squall called down another alley way. He was searching high and low for her, under every box, inside every trash can, down every alley, every nook and cranny. He couldn't find her. "Dammit Rin. Where did you go?" He asked to no one in particular as if he would receive a sign... he did. A little giggle of laughter echoed down the street from another alley way. Squall could have recognized the giggle anywhere, it was Rinoa's. 

The giggle continued, a bit louder as Squall neared the source. He stopped at an alley way and looked down, hope filling him to the breaking point. His hope was lost as all he found was a girl turned away from him. Her hair was cut short and a shawl was tied around her neck and the excess of the shawl billowing about her. She continued her giggle.

"Excuse me." Squall began. "Have you seen-" He was about to describe just what Rinoa looked like but the girl interrupted him. 

"You want to see her?" She asked as she turned to him with piercing blue eyes and a pure smile. "You want to see the Lady Continent?" She asked. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" Squall asked, becoming frustrated with this psycho babble. 

"You want to be with her?" She asked.

"Who? Rinoa? You know who I'm looking for!?" He asked, surprised and delighted as he took a few steps for her. 

"Rinoa." The girl repeated as Squall continued to advance forward. 

"Yes! Where is she?" He asked, now desperate. 

"Do you want to be with her?" She asked. The question struck him as odd. A total stranger asking him this question.

"Of course I do!" He yelled, almost like he was scolding her. At that moment it was almost as if time stopped. The distant voices of crowds stopped, the clouds above moved no more, and the wind, once strong and powerful, now lay dormant. Squall looked about quizzically but focused his attention back to the girl as she raised an arm above her head, opened her mouth and sang. 

The song was different then most. This song was dark and quite plain. She continued to sing for minutes on end, taking no stops to catch a breath or two. 

"What are you doing!?" He asked, becoming scared and paranoid of what was going on around him. As if on cue she stopped. 

"I'll be there... so if you come... you'll find me... I promise." She said in Rinoa's voice. He sucked in a deep breath as the ground below him disappeared leaving a white disc in its place that surrounded the girl in a large radius. He slowly began to sink into the ground. He tried to pull his legs free and called for help but there was none. The silence answered his plea. He reached for the outer areas, unaffected by the ring of white but could not reach them. He continued to struggle even as the whiteness was about to engulf his head. He reached up a hand as his face fell into the white purity and soon his hand was gone to....

Squall opened his eyes and found himself in Esther city in the shopping area. He looked about suspiciously. He hadn't seen this place in two years. He looked about at all the people. They were like gray generic shapes, children, men and women easily distinguishable. Not only were the people freakishly colored, the setting was odd as well... The normally perfect blue sky was now gray... the colorful ground, gray... the colorful city, gray. Everything was gray. He looked down to his hands, he was the only one with a color that differed from the gray. He looked about and found yet another person who stood out because of their color differentiation. 

It was a girl. She was leaning over the counter of a popcorn stand. The gray generic man smiled at her and handed her the popcorn. She gave him the money and trotted for Squall. She looked up to him and smiled. It was Rinoa... not the Rinoa he knew though. She looked younger, different... it was her, only two years younger. She was fifteen.

"Squall, did you want any?" She asked him, holding the gray bag of popcorn to him. He shook his head, a bit wavering. "Suit yourself." She said with a shrug. "Hey, where did Seifer go?" She asked, looking about the area of crowded gray people. She looked to him. "Do you know where he went?" She asked, a frown appearing.

"No." He finally answered. His breathing began to quicken, nervous about just what the hell was going on. 

"He was just here a moment ago." She whispered as she scratched her chin thoughtfully. "It's amazing to think after all the time we got to know him we still can't figure him out!" She said with a shake of her head. Squall just nodded vaguely. 

'All the time we've known him?' He thought curiously. 

"What's the date?" He asked, suddenly becoming aware he was really, really, really far away from home. 

"Ummm... July seventh. Why?" She asked, looking up at him curiously.

"... and the year?" He asked, quickly becoming nervous. 

"2341." She told him, as if he was totally out of his mind. 

"I need to go to the bathroom." He said with sudden urgency as he dashed off towards the bathroom just to the left of him.

"Oh... umm bye!" She called, confused...

He hurriedly spun the cold water valve and blue, natural blue water spilled out of the faucet. He sighed with relief. At least one thing was normal, the water. He splashed some of the water in his face a few times as if to wake himself from this bizarre dream world. 

"What the hell is going on? 2341, was 2 years ago..." He whispered to himself as he leaned on the sink, his face dripping wet. He looked to the mirror ahead of him he gasped at what he saw. He had to hold the sides of the sink for support. He was fifteen... the whole world had seemingly turned back time. He touched his face delicately, right where his scar should be. He found no scar, just skin... just tan skin. He slowly, and shakily, walked for the exit. He pushed the door open revealing the hustle and bustle of the streets. The gray generic people going to and fro. He stepped into the center where only few people were and found Rinoa and Seifer holding hands and whispering to each other. Surprisingly he could hear every word they were saying. Squall quickly noticed something about Seifer... he was not fifteen... he was eighteen.

"Come on... no one cares." He whispered tenderly as he pushed himself a little bit closer to her. 

"Oh, but it's so embarrassing." She mumbled. 

"No one's even watching." He insisted. "Besides... Squall and ----- do it all the time." He reminded her. The person they were talking about was strangely omitted by an ear rattling sound. 

"Oh... fine. But just a real quick one." She said with a seductive smile. They kissed, and it wasn't quick. Squall could tell, even from this view that their tongues were penetrating each other mouths. Squall just gaped, wide eyed his mouth hanging open just a bit. Seifer finally stopped kissing her and turned to Squall. 

"What?" He asked, as if nothing out of the normal had happened. 

'Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream, just a dream, just a dream, just a dream, just a dream, just a dream, just a dream.' Squall repeated over and over in his mind.... 

They had walked for a bit until they finally found the Esther subway station. 

"Today was fun! We should do it again!" Rinoa said with a smile. Squall and Rinoa were sitting on the ground, next to the tube that the subway passed through while Seifer was standing before them. 

"Definitely!" Seifer said with a smile. Almost on cue, his mobile rang. Seifer pulled it out of his pocket and answered it. "Hello?" He asked. "Oh hey! How you doin'? Fine, fine. Psshh... No way. We just went out for a bit..." His conversation was stereotypical, boring and dry as it continued. He wandered away as he continued to talk, stopped at a bridge away down and looked over the edge. 

"Squall..." Rinoa began next to him as he felt her hand rest on top of his. Squall shot a glance down to where Seifer was chatting mindlessly away and turned back to Rinoa. "You know... You've always been a better kisser than Seifer." She said as she licked her lips seductively. She pressed her lips to his and they kissed passionately, Squall giving in and remembering all the moments Rinoa and he shared. She pulled apart reluctantly, but Squall was happy for her lips to leave as the setting around him set in. "... but... I've always wanted more from you. So much more." She whispered as she grabbed his hand and pushed it up her leg. 

"No!" He yelled and ran away...

He stopped running for a brief moment to catch his breath. His running had taken him a long way across Esther. While his destination wasn't certain, he had a vague idea. Once he finally caught his breath, he heard a crying voice down the alley way next to him. He looked down and was surprised to see a little Albino girl, bare foot, long hair with a beautiful white night gown on. She was crying, rubbing her eyes vigorously from the crying. But the things all around her were the most interesting of the two. Teddy Bears... everywhere. Mountains of them, all around her.

"I-I lost my teddy bear." The girl whimpered. "He was my only one!" She wailed. Around her, the bears began to slowly slide behind her and combined into one gigantic bear. Its eyes were dark and it's smile was vicious as its humungous arms wrapped around the crying girl, hugged her to itself and it slowly began to melt into nothingness. Soon there was only a puddle of brown, black and white meshed together. 

In a flash, Squall was gone, running...

Squall was completely exhausted as he stepped onto his mother's porch on the very outside of Esther. He gulped delicately and pushed the door open. He entered and found his father, Laguna, and his mother Raine sitting peacefully at the dinner table. 

They had divorced, he could of sworn but decided not to put it into question. 

"Oh Squall!" Raine exclaimed with a delighted smile. "You're just in time for dinner. Please, sit down." She invited. 

"Yes son. It's been awhile since we've had a real family dinner." He insisted with an equally pleasant smile. To Squall, their smiles weren't pleasant, they were creepy. He had never seen his parents smile like this before. 

He slowly made his way to the seat they pointed to. Their eyes, following him like cameras, unblinking, unwavering and full of mystery. Food was in front of them, but it was totally unrecognizable to Squall. It looked like brown mush. 

"It's hamburgers!" His mother said with a smile as she pointed to the plate before him.

"Your favorite." His father said with the same smile as before. Squall wanted to throw up, not at the food, but the way his parents were behaving. 

"I'm not that hungry. May I please be excused?" He asked as he stood, leaving the food behind. 

"Of course." They both said in unison. He turned away and walked for his room, remembering where it was from years gone past. His parent's eye's still following him all the way. 

"By the way Son!" His dad called. "You have a visitor." He finished as Squall entered the room. 

Lying on his bed was Seifer, fifteen year old Seifer. He was half naked, his shirt gone. He sat up on the bed as Squall entered. Seifer's color was an intense difference from the walls around him. 

"Squall..." He whispered, standing up. Squall just stared, not knowing what to do. "Please. I've been wanting this for so long...." He whimpered as he grabbed Squall's hand and kissed it tenderly. Squall began to shake of true fear. To much was happening to fast. He could feel himself losing it slowly but surely... his mind was going to snap... "I want you... I know you want me..." Seifer whispered as he pressed his lips to Squall's. He tried to fight Seifer off but he overpowered Squall and backed him into a corner. Squall could feel Seifer's erection pressing up against his hip and began to lightly rub himself against Squall and moaned softly against his lips. 

That was it... Squall lost it. He tore his hand free from Seifer's grasp and punched him in the chest. However, the punch seem to be a little to hard as Squall's hand broke through Seifer's back, breaking his chest bones and ripping his spinal cord. Squall hand was bloody on the other side as it was stilled balled in a tight resolve. Seifer's face backed off from Squall's enraged one. 

"My love.." He whimpered and disappeared into a cloud of dust. Squall's hand remained still as he eyed his bloody, balled fist with horror. He shook uncontrollably. His fist unclenched as his hands grabbed his head and he screamed. His fingers nails dug into his scalp. 

"What the fuck is going on!?!!?" He screamed as he grabbed a few books from his book shelf and tossed them to the floor, not knowing what else to do. 

"Son! What's wrong!?" It was Laguna's voice from the other side of the door. With the voice, the memory of their 'peaceful' dinner came running back through his mind. He grabbed his hair and screamed once more. He stumbled back and onto his bed. 

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?!!?!??!" He screamed as loud as he possibly could. He ran to his closet, opened it up and rummaged through everything, tossing things, ripping things... anything he could do. "Where am I!?" He asked with a hoarse voice as he turned from his closet and to the center of his room. He panted and looked about the gray room with darting eyes. Suddenly, two arms were slung over his shoulder. A hand tenderly grabbed his chin and the other tugged at the bottom of his shirt, touching his skin seductively. 

"My son..." A sweet voice cooed into his ear. 

"Mother?" He asked, not believing what was going on. 

"Yes..." She whispered as her lips delicately caressed his ear lobe. She made a trail of lustful kisses down his cheek and to the edge of his lips. 

"What are you doing?" He asked as he felt her hand slide up under his shirt and caress his abdomen delicately. His breathing intensified. 

"I love you." She said with a horse voice. Squall clamped his eyes closed not wanting to believe. He could still feel her, all over him but when he opened his eyes he was in a room made of blue curtains. True blue curtains. 

"Where are we?" He asked, his breathing becoming ragged. 

"Please... my son..." She began as her hand under his shirt pushed farther up to his chest and caressed him harder and roughly. "Make love to me." She demanded as she kissed him, passionately. He broke away from all contact with her and ran away. In a flash she was down on the floor, looking like she was begging. "Why?" She asked as blood streaked down from her cheek, forehead and her closed eye. "Why did you do that my son?" She asked sounding hurt and lost.

"What!?" He yelled. "What did I do!?" He screamed as he held his head back and his hands covered his eyes. He shook his head violently and ran out of the curtained room as his mother's flesh and muscle disappeared, leaving blood spill everywhere....

He ran and ran until a voice called out: "Squall..." It was Quistis's voice. He sighed with relief, but didn't get his hopes up to high, as the familiar tone echoed. "Squall." The voice repeated. It was coming from a cafe just to the left of him. He quickly entered the cafe and found that it had completely natural colors, the man at the counter, the walls, and Quistis. Everything was perfectly natural, no gray anywhere. There were no customers however. Squall walked to where Quistis was slowly sipping her coffee. She was on the far side of the room at a little table with booth seats. He took a seat across from her. 

"You're confused." She stated, not looking at him, only her coffee. Feeling he could trust her, he nodded. 

"I have no idea what the hell is going on." He admitted with a whisper.

"What do you mean?" She asked, sounding genuinely confused. 

"You haven't noticed?" He asked, totally amazed. 

"Squall..." She began as she set her coffee down on the table. "Sometimes we just have to accept things the way they are." She said with a smile. "Like... You'll never become a SeeD, for instance." She said, citing an example. 

"But..." Squall was about to remind her but it suddenly dawned on him. "No..." He whispered as he was about to stand, until he was suddenly on top of Quistis. His hand cupping one of her breasts The table was tipped over quite roughly as with the booth he was sitting in. The coffee cup was shattered and coffee had been splashed on both of them. She just had a simple smile while his face had a terrified look on it. He had no idea what had happened, he just suddenly came to be in that position. 

"Squall... take me. Here... now." She demanded as her waist rose a little bit to come into contact with Squall's crotch. He quickly jumped off her, totally mortified and ran for the exit as she laughed and pulled a piece of broken coffee mug out of her arm with a smile and she continued to laugh and laugh...

"I've got to get out of this hell hole!!" Squall yelled as he ran to nowhere. As he ran into the artificial park of Esther he found the girl with the short brunette hair who had sent him to the bizarre realm. Her back was turned from him and towards a large pond on the center. The park was, amazingly, colored. "It's you!" He exclaimed as he finally stopped. "You're that bitch who sent me to this hell!" He yelled at her. She turned to him, that same pleasant smile on her lips. 

"Do you really want to return?" She asked. 

"Yes! I can't live here! I can't live like this!" Squall yelled as he grabbed her shoulders and shook her. She wrapped her arms around him in a light and tender hug.

"You'll never return..." She reminded him. 

"I don't care. I never want to see this place again..." He demanded. She nodded against him, opened her mouth, and sang. Squall instantly wrapped her tight in his arms, as if he wasn't in control anymore and the world around them began to spin and spiral. Squall's eyes shut as his head rested lightly on top of her soft hair as the world continued to spin. The environments meshed and blended together and Squall clenched his eyes tighter together. As he felt the world around them spin ever faster, he opened his eyes and he was in the arms of his beloved Rinoa as she held on to Squall for dear life. They were high above the world they knew, the clouds around them spinning as Squall's grip tightened around her, protectively and closed his eyes again....

Squall finally opened his eyes and Rinoa was still clinging to him, her eyes closed as she wept softly against him.

"Rinoa... it's okay... I'm here." Squall reassured her as he held her closer than he ever had before. She opened her eyes and looked up to him and a smile replaced her frown as she cried all the more harder against his chest as he held her even tighter against him, forgetting his surreal experience for the moment in place of Rinoa.......

*******

A/n: Right around where it says 'The park was amazingly colored.' I knew had carpel tunnel syndrome... I've been writing practically all day for lack of anything better to do. I wrote two chapters to 'Here is Garden.', wrote the last chapter (it's midnight of the day I posted it... July 25th) and wrote this... I've had enough writing for today. Maybe for a week... wait, no. Maybe 14 hours... at max. I love writing this!!! 

**IF ANYONE SAYS I COPIED RAHXEPHON I WILL HUNT THEM DOWN AND GUT THEM!!** Because I did take an episode idea where the main character is sucked into... well, in lamens terms, 'a parallel dimension'. I thought it worked well, so I changed the events n'stuff... 

THANKS FOR READING!! NOW GO AND READ 'HERE IS GARDEN!' My new fic...


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